A practical approach for assessing the efficiency of coated urea on controlling nitrogen availability

ABSTRACT We propose an approach for assessing the efficiency of coating materials on controlling nitrogen (N) availability to plants. It is based on the use of coated and soluble urea (UR) applied to corn over 3 growing cycles, as follows: coated UR with longevity of 2 (UR-2m) or 4 months (UR-4m) with application of 900 mg N∙pot−1 at the beginning of the experiment, soluble UR with a split application of 900 mg N∙pot−1 (300 mg N∙pot−1 per growing cycle, UR-3x), soluble UR with a sole application of 900 mg N∙pot−1 at the beginning of the experiment (UR-1x), and a control treatme...