New AG International's Editor-in-Chief, Luke Hutson, speaks to Gregor Pasda, BASF's Global Technical Marketing - Nitrogen Management
Why is nitrogen essential for crops? Nitrogen is essential for plant growth and critical for maximizing yields. Nitrogen is required in large quantities and throughout the growing season. However, nitrogen can be lost in three ways: as ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions into the atmosphere, as nitrate leaching out of the root horizon, and later into the ground water.
What impact do nitrogen losses have in agriculture? On average, only 50% of total applied nitrogen is taken up by the plant; the rest is either fixed in the soil or lost. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), on average 1% of applied nitrogen can be lost due to N2O emissions, and on average, 12% due to nitrate leaching. Especially from urea-containing fertilizers, nitrogen losses in the form of ammonia (on average 15% of applied nitrogen for pure urea) can occur. Under certain conditions, ammonia losses from urea can be severe and reach as high as 80% of applied nitrogen.1
The extent of losses depends on environmental conditions, especially on weather and soil conditions, and farm management factors.
The impact these nitrogen losses include: • Less nitrogen available for plant development which may result in lower yields • Financial penalties for the farmer when yield potential is lost • Within particulate matter, ammonia forms smog • Severe negative ecological impacts such as global warming ( climate change), acidfication of soils, reduced biodiversity and/or eutrophication of water ( algae bloom fish kill) • Negative impact on human health due to smog and climate change
Did governing agencies recognize such nitrogen losses and establish regulations to reduce them? Yes, one of the first actions in the EU more than 30 years ago was the EU Nitrate Directive to reduce nitrate leaching and later the NEC Directive to reduce ammonia emissions. These EU regulations were then transformed in each EU member state into national regulations.2
With the new EU commission, one of its main topics is the European Green Deal. Presented in December 2019, the overarching objective of the EU Green Deal is for the EU to become the first climate neutral continent by 2050, resulting in a cleaner environment, more affordable energy, smarter transport, new jobs and an overall better quality of life. So the EU Green Deal will not cover only the agricultural sector but many more sectors e.g. industry, transport and finance.3 What are the terms by the European Commission in the European Green Deal that relate directly to agriculture and nitrogen loss? Concerning nitrogen loss, the European Commission’s Farm to Fork Strategy and the EU Biodiversity Strategy aim to reduce nutrient losses at least by 50%, while ensuring no deterioration of soil fertility. The EU commission expects that this will result in a reduction in fertilizer use of at least 20%.4,5
What additional environmental programs are targeted at nitrogen fertilization? There are several, but a few examples include: Nutrients – action plan for better management 6 Zero pollution action plan 7 Soil strategy 8 Fit for 55% Package and 2030 Climate Target Plan 9 European Climate Law (EU 2021/1119) 10
How will the regulations impact farmers and nitrogen fertilization? This question concerning the impact on farmers was already evaluated by USDA, EU Commission JRC, University of Kiel as well as Wageningen University & Research. We expect the existing and upcoming EU regulations under the EU Green Deal to have a big impact on agriculture (farmers) and especially nitrogen fertilization. We also foresee there will be impacts on the upstream (fertilizer producers, distributers, and dealers) and downstream industries.
Can the targets of the EU Green Deal concerning nitrogen fertilization be reached without a significant negative impact on farmers and industry economics and provide safe supply of food and feed? Profitable farms are key to a sustainable food supply. The profitability mainly depends on the yield achieved and the input and running cost of a farm. It depends on measures how the target of the Green Deal are implemented. A general reduction of the fertilizer application rate will lead to lower yields and lower profitability of the farmers, threatening the food security. With the use of new technologies, like nitrogen stabilizers, state of the art farm equipment and digital tools, the nitrogen losses can be minimized and the nitrogen use efficiency optimized.
How can farmers increase nitrogen use efficiency? The first action is to apply the optimal nitrogen amount to crops. The tools for this challenging target are soil and crop analysis just before or during fertilizer application with sensors on the applicator, on drones, and/or on satellites; and historic data from soil and yield maps, as well as
historic and actual weather data. All this data is digitalized and then evaluated by such means as artificial intelligence. The result is a crop and site-specific steering of the application of nutrient amounts (variable rate application). The nutrients must then be applied with fertilizers which reduce nutrient losses. Concerning nitrogen, these are nitrogen fertilizers which contain nitrogen inhibitors/stabilizers.
What are nitrogen inhibitors and how do they work? There are two technologies:
Urease inhibitors (UI) for all urea-containing fertilizers: UI on pure urea (46% N) reduce on average 70% of the ammonia losses by inhibition of urease enzymes in the soil for a certain period of time.
Nitrification inhibitors (NI) for all ammonium and urea-containing fertilizers: NI reduce on average 38% of nitrous oxide emissions and 18% of nitrate leaching by inhibition only of specific soil bacteria (responsible for the first step of the nitrification) for a certain period of time. Reduction of the climate change which is caused by increased emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide is a main global topic. Can nitrogen inhibitors help to reach this goal? Yes, of course. Model calculations show that 32 million tons of CO2 equivalents can be saved each year in the EU if all mineral fertilizers consumed in the EU are treated with urease or nitrification inhibitors. This amount is equivalent to removing 8.9 million passenger cars from the streets. So therefore, fertilizers treated with urease and/or nitrification inhibitors are the key to reaching our goals of reducing our fertilizer footprint. 11
You mention two technologies: What are the main benefits to industry, growers, and society when using nitrogen inhibitors? When using nitrogen inhibitors, the farmer has a return on investment of 2-5:1 and can simplify farm management. Also, the industry can offer innovation and differentiation among competitors. Furthermore, farmers and the industry are prepared for future regulatory requirements. Society benefits from better water and air quality, reduced climate impact, and improved biodiversity. A triple win situation.
What are the BASF solutions to address nitrogen loss issues? BASF offers the following products the urease inhibitor Limus® for pure urea and liquid urea solutions (e.g. UAN); the nitrification inhibitor DMPP in the form of Vibelsol® for solid mineral fertilizers; and Vizura® for liquid organic fertilizers as liquid manure and biogas digestate. ●
1 IPCC 2019: 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories - Volume 4: Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use - Chapter 11: N2O Emissions from Managed Soils, and CO2 Emissions from Lime and Urea Application https://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-nitrates/index_en.html 2 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/reduction/index.htm 3 https://ec.europa.eu/clima/eu-action/european-green-deal_en 4 https://ec.europa.eu/food/horizontal-topics/farm-fork-strategy_en 5 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/strategy/biodiversity-strategy-2030_en 6 https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12899-Nutrients-action-plan-for-better-management_en 7 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/strategy/zero-pollution-action-plan_en
Profitable farms are key to a sustainable food supply.
8 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/strategy/soil-strategy_en 9 https://ec.europa.eu/clima/eu-action/european-green-deal/2030-climate-target-plan_en 10 https://ec.europa.eu/clima/eu-action/european-green-deal/european-climate-law_en 11 FEE 2021: Annex to: “Urease and Nitrification Inhibitor technologies contribute to the European Green Deal” https://specialty- chemicals.eu/fertilisers-efficiency-enhancers/
Nitrogen inhibitors can simplify farm management, says BASF.
Photo: Diane Jones
The optimal amount of nitrogen must be applied to crops.
