Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers

and Beneficial Greenhouse

Gas N Management Practices

Mario Tenuta, Xiaopeng Gao, Krista Hanis, Don Flaten, & Brian Amiro

Department of Soil Science & The National Centre for Livestock and the Environment, University of Manitoba

Why Care About GHG?

Background

Danny Blair

U Winnipeg

Nitrous Oxide is Our Concern?

Background

Stationary Combustion

Transport

Fugitive

Industrial Processes

Other Product Use

Agriculture

Waste

Land Use

Agriculture 35% of total Emissions in MB

Data: Environment Canada 2009

Mg N Fertilizer Use in Canada

Sources of Nitrous Oxide from Ag

27% N2O Emissions Indirect From Soil

Emissions from fertilizer and residues

Manure to soil

Excreta Paddocks and Pastures

Data: Environment Canada 2009

Background

Tide Has Turned

Background

MB will reduce emissions from 2005 o 1/3 from 2005 by 2030 o ½ by 2050 o Neutral by 2080

Source: Werner Antweiler, UBC

What We Have In Store For You at MAC

• This EEF and 4R BMP presentation

• Follow-up presentation/survey

• Poster on N fertilizer use survey in Manitoba

• Posters on N fertilizer BMPs with Potato

• Poster feedback boards on three topics

• Survey Monkey for satellite attendees

MAC

4R Nutrient Stewardship

• Best use of crop nutrient additions

• Improve/maintain yields

• Improve profitability

• Limit losses

• Have co-benefits (water and air quality, GHG)

• Understandable and easy to follow

• Auditable, provide credits, use $incentive programs

• Applies “agronomic sense” of past, present and future advances

4R BMPs

Greater the Rate, More N2O Emitted

• TGAS

• Potato

• indirect

Rate

Gao et al. 2013 Can J Soil Sci

Tenuta et al., in prep.

Potato at Carberry

Various Crops at Glenlea

Month

May Nov May Nov May Nov May Nov May Nov May Nov May Nov May Nov May

FN

(g

N h

a-1

d-1

)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

F F F F F F

T T T T T T T T

2006-20072007-2008

2008-20092009-2010

2010-20112011-2012

2012-20132013-2014

Corn

Corn

Fababean

Fababean

Spring Wheat

Alfalfa Alfalfa

Rapeseed Barley

Alfalfa

Spring wheat

Alfalfa

Corn

Corn

Soybean

Soybean

= fertilizer emission

Good N fixing Legumes Emit Little N2O

Rate

Right Rate Recommendations

• Apply N at most economically rate

• Consider good N fixing legumes

• Use experience if to apply variable rate N

o Understand if moisture drives variable response

• Soil test for N every year

o Wet warm falls and springs, perhaps spring tests are best

o Coarse soils, perhaps spring tests are best

• Understand variety/hybrid N requirements

• Understand variety/hybrid grain quality response to N

• Understand impact of Placement, Timing and Source of N

• Question University, MAFRD, CCA, and sales staff

Rate

Banding Slows Formation of Nitrate

Urea

Ammonia/Ammonium

Nitrite

Nitrate

Lower soil contact delayed release of Ammonia

Delayed nitrification by high pH and NH3

Nitrite slows 2nd step nitrification

Nitrate appears in concentrated zone

Appearance delayed than broadcast

N protected from early season

leaching/denitrification losses

Placement

Carman - sand soil

Day of Year

150 200 250 300 350

Cu

mu

lati

ve e

mis

sio

ns

N2O

N2O

(k

g N

2O

-N h

a-1

)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

Oak Bluff - clay soil

Day of Year

150 200 250 300 350

UreaI

UreaS

UreaM ESNM

SuperUM

Control

∑N

2O

, kg N

2O

-N h

a-1

Placement N2O emissions-2011

N treatment

∑N2O (kg N2O-N ha-

1)

Control 0.55 d

UreaI 1.82 a

UreaS 1.55 a

UreaM 1.31 ab

ESNM 0.97 c

SuperUM 0.98 c

Banding tends to reduce

I=incorporated S=sideband M=midrow band

EEF 26% less than urea when banded

Gao et al. 2014. Agron J

Placement

Placement BMPs

• Banding fall and spring recommended

• Good band closure and coverage important

• Wet years N2O reduced with banding

• Looking into effect of band depth

• We found mid-row to tend to reduce N2O more

than side-row and both better than

incorporation – at odds with findings of others

Placement

Date

1/10/2010 1/2/2011 1/6/2011 1/10/2011 1/2/2012 1/6/2012 1/10/2012

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Fall AA

Spring AA

Thaw2011

Thaw2012

Crop Spring AA Fall AA

Year ∑FN ∑FN winter ∑FN ∑FN winter

kg N ha-1

2010/11 5.1 1.0 3.2 2.5

2011/12 14.1 0.4 9.4 1.6

g N

2O

-N h

a-1 d

-1

Fall Fertilizer Addition is Supposed to be Bad!

Tenuta et al., J Environ Qual 2015

Timing

Timing BMPs

Estimated Average Yield for Application of N Fertilizer in MB

Fall broadcast, incorporated 80% of spring b’cast

Fall banded 100 "

Spring broadcast, incorporated 100 "

Spring banded 120 “

Banded N is 20% better than broadcast N

Spring applied N is 20% better than fall applied N

Timing

Very late fall application just before freeze up doesn’t

increase N2O compared to spring

Conventional Sources of N

• AA > Urea > Ammonium > Nitrate

• Nitrification reason for most emissions

Source

Tenuta and Beauchamp 2003 Can J Soil Sci

Breitenbeck & Bremner 1986

AA

Urea

Types of Nitrogen EEF

• Stabilized N o Urease inhibitor

o Nitrification inhibitor

o Double inhibitor

• Controlled Release o Polymer Coated Urea

• Slow Release o Sulfur-coated Urea, Methylene Urea,

Isobuylidene Diurea, Urea Formaldehyde

• Nutrient Blends o MicroEssentials

Source

www.dowagro.com

NH3 NH2OH NO2-

N2O

N2

X

1. Nitrification Inhibitors

3. Controlled and Slow Release Urea

Nitrification Denitrification

NH4

Urea

X

2. Urease Inhibitors

N2O N2O

NO3-

N2

Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers Mechanism of Action

Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers

Source

Irrigated Potato Carberry Broadcast-incorporated

Double banded

Early Wet

Season Year

Baron et al., in prep

Source

Dry Year

Source BMPs

• From other research, UAN emits less N2O than AA and urea

• SuperU reduced N2O in wet years if subsurface banded

• ESN must be subsurface place

• Wet seasons, advantage for yield and N2O reduction with ESN

• Cost a factor:

• ex. Urea $1.39, UAN $1.40, SuperU $1.75, ESN $1.81 /kg N

• Urease inhibitors if need to surface place limit ammonia volatilization and therefore reduce indirectly N2O emissions

Source

Organic Systems?

Source

2014

2015

Megan Westphal, M.Sc. project

Legume ploughdown as an

Enhanced Efficiency N

Source?

What Can We Recommend?

• Use the 4Rs

• Optimize N addition Rates

o Testing, requirements, interactions with 3Rs

• Can you move to lower N producing conventional fertilizers?

• Good N fixing legumes emit little N2O

• Adding N via green manures limits N2O

• Let’s Band Together

• Estimate if EEFs worth it for your system (ex. reduce fall

application rate)

• Spring application unless can apply shortly before fall freeze-up,

but consider EEF for insurance of spring weather

• Question your University, MAFRD, CCA, and salesperson advice

BMP Recommendations

Thank You

• Growers o MCGA, WGRF, MPSGA, KPPA

o Grower cooperators

• Industry

o Agrium, KOCH, BASF, DOW, Fertilizer Canada, McCains, SimPlot

• Government of Canada o AGGP, Canada Research Chairs, NSERC Discovery

Program, GF2 AIP, CFI, CMCDC

• Province of Manitoba o MSAPP, MRAC, MRIF

• Graduate and Undergraduate Students – Many! • Technicians

o Brad Sparling, Matt Gervais, Mervin Bilous, Tim Stem, Rob Ellis

Acknowledgements