Understanding how much nitrogen actually gets taken up by plants is key to improving efficiency—both for profitability and sustainability.
Tag Archives nitrogen
Rethinking nitrogen efficiency
Tracking nitrogen with stable isotopes offers surprising insights into fertilizer uptake, loss, and management strategies
Maximize your nitrogen efficiency with the right practices
Strategic application can reduce N losses and boost productivity
Speaking at Ag Days, Bryce Geisel digs down into nitrogen loss pathways and how applying the right practices can keep your N fertilizer where it belongs.
Nitrogen, nitrates and nitrites
Know the names and natures of the nutritious and noxious
Nitrogen goes makes up 80 per cent of the air that we breathe in the form of a very stable N2 gas. In my several years at university I majored in chemistry and my work on nitrogen was intensive, from its biological role to its key role in almost all military explosives. Nitrogen is one […] Read more
Nitrogen-fixing biologicals fall short at field level
Challenges remain for products to achieve their hoped-for potential
Glacier FarmMedia — Dave Franzen is a straight shooter. If he doesn’t know the answer, the North Dakota State University soil scientist will admit it; if he does, he’ll tell you. As an example, in the summer of 2022 researchers from land grant universities across the north-central U.S. studied commercially available, biological nitrogen-fixing products to […] Read more
Feeding dry fields
Prairie farmers find more than one way to optimize fertilizer efficiency, whether in dry growing seasons or in any growing season
Farmers and crop consultants in Western Canada have slightly different approaches to manage weather-related fertilizer application risks. With variable moisture, do you apply the full amount at seeding and hope for rain — or find another way? Most producers contacted by Grainews opt for some version of split fertilizer application when facing dry growing conditions […] Read more
Nitrogen use in corn re-examined
Research from the U.S. Midwest sparks controversy, but the solution may be easier
Glacier FarmMedia — When it comes to nitrogen use in corn, it’s always been a question of how much to apply. University of Illinois research on the source of N — that is, how much a corn plant gets from fertilizer and how much from soil — has initiated a considerable amount of debate since […] Read more
Nutrien misses quarterly profit estimates as potash prices plummet
Fertilizer demand expected to rise in Q4
Reuters — Nutrien fell short of analysts’ estimates for third-quarter profit on Wednesday, as lower potash prices weighed on the world’s biggest fertilizer producer. Potash prices have been falling after shipments from Belarus and Russia resumed. These exports had been significantly restricted last year following Western sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion […] Read more
More affordability, usage of fertilizers in 2024, analyst says
Israel's fertilizer output normal for now
MarketsFarm — While global fertilizer prices were projected to be steady to higher in 2024, overall affordability is set to improve while usage will increase, according to one analyst. Samuel Taylor, a New York City-based farm inputs analyst for RaboResearch Food and AgriBusiness, delivered a presentation on the fertilizer market during the firm’s Fall Harvest […] Read more
More bang for your fertilizer buck
Study provides more proof that pulse crops contribute to nitrogen use efficiency
Canadian farmers are expected to spend a record $23.1 billion on inputs in 2023, so they will be looking to get the most bang for their buck when it comes to fertilizer. A recent western Canadian study could make that task a little easier in the not-too-distant future. The Resilient Rotations project is a comprehensive, […] Read more
The many forms of nitrogen fixation
Huge energy inputs are required
How many of you know almost all of the non-nuclear munitions or bomb explosions that occur worldwide are due to the fertilizer nitrogen? There are other explosive chemicals, like potassium chlorate and silver iodide, but they are minor compared with fixed nitrogen. Dynamite, Semtex, picric acid, gun powder, gelignite and all of those other explosives, […] Read more