How to fertilize the soil with nitrogen?
Nitrogen is the main nutrient for many grains and vegetables. After all, it is he who regulates the development, growth and quality of fruits. But if it is applied incorrectly, it may not reach the root system of plants and thereby wash out from the soil.
Why are nitrogen losses occurring?
In fact, nitrogen losses range from 25% to 50%, it all depends on the type of fertilizer, acidity and type of soil, as well as temperature and humidity.
Solving the problem with nitrogen losses
1. Getting nitrogen from plants
Natural nitrogen can be obtained by planting legumes after "heavy" crops such as sunflowers. Legumes contain nodule bacteria that can convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia. But you should remember:
· To restore nitrogen, legume seeds should be treated with special nitrogen fixers.
· Legumes are able to reduce the level of other minerals in the soil, therefore, after planting them, complex fertilizers with trace elements should be applied.
2. Nitrogen-potash fertilizers
The main part of nitrogen fertilizers in granular form is ammonium nitrate and urea. They are used much less frequently and have their pros and cons when used.
The advantage is that:
1. Conveniently shaped for storage and application to the soil.
2. Contains an increased percentage of digestibility.
3. Reduce losses due to the content of additional substances.
Of the shortcomings:
1. High price.
2. Slow impact due to long transformation time.
3. The granules are brought in immediately for embedding.
Most often, granular nitrogen is used for feeding crops.
How should the soil be treated with ammonia to increase nitrogen?
Liquid ammonia is injected into the soil during sowing operations and for top dressing. But despite its high content in the soil, it quickly evaporates. To reduce losses, the injection is carried out into the deep layers of the soil.
You should work with ammonia very carefully, because it during evaporation, it can damage the sprouts, so it needs to be applied a little and at low external temperatures.
Sulfur micronutrient fertilizers at their optimal ratio with nitrogen 20% to 80% or 15% and 85%. Before that, a chemical analysis of the soil should be carried out.
Do not forget that to combat fertilizer loss you need:
· Harrows or discator.
· For fertilizing, have seeders or combined-type devices.