Each gardener is trying to improve the quality of his crop by applying all kinds of fertilizers. To date, the most common is urea (urea), containing organic plant and nutrient soil additives, as well as rich in nitrogen.
A bit of history
The urea was first discovered in 1773 by the French scientist Hillaire Rouelle, but only since 1828 they began to produce it synthetically. An effective nitrogen fertilizer, urea (urea) in its pure form contains up to 46% nitrogen; when dissolved in water, it is pH-balanced and non-toxic to plants and soil.
Release form
Urea (urea) is available in various forms:
- In the form of small granules that slowly dissolve in the soil and protect it from being saturated with nitrogen. It is easy to mix this fertilizer with others, including organic ones.
- In the form of long-soluble tablets coated with a special coating that prevents rapid dissolution in the soil, which protects the crop and soil from nitration.
Urea: application
Field experiments show that the use of urea as a pre-sowing fertilizer is permissible on absolutely all types of soils and under all kinds of crops.
At the same time, the product is not inferior in effectiveness to ammonium nitrate and
ammonium sulfate, and sometimes, for example, on sod-podzolic soils with sufficient moisture and irrigated sierozems, it provides a richer
crop of potatoes and vegetable crops. It is used both for feeding
winter crops in early spring, and for row crops and vegetables with immediate sowing to prevent nitrogen loss due to the evaporation of ammonia formed during the decomposition of fertilizer. For foliar feeding of plants, it is recommended to use a crystalline version with a biuret content of up to 0.2-0.3%.
Benefits
This nitrogen fertilizer has advantages over other fertilizers. Urea (urea) is well absorbed by crops, and at high concentrations (1% solution) does not kill the plant and does not burn its leaves.
During decomposition, it is absorbed by leaf cells in the form of whole molecules, and can also be absorbed upon decomposition by the action of the urease enzyme with the formation of ammonia or diamino acids in the cycle of transformation of nitrogenous substances. However, the excess of free ammonia in the root zone slows the germination and emergence of seedlings, so you need to be extremely rational when applying urea to the soil during sowing or evenly distribute it.
Recommendations
Before adding urea to the soil, it is recommended to mix it thoroughly with other additives or with dry sand. When used correctly, granular urea (urea) is an excellent nitrogenous fertilizer. All this is due to good physical properties, as well as a high nitrogen content in its composition. Since its use is possible on any soil, and it favorably affects the growth of the crop, the need for this universal fertilizer grows with every season, and, as a result, its production increases.