Enhanced efficiency nitrogen fertilisers in the grains industry: an opportunity to reduce GHG emissions and increase Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE)
Investment
GRDC Code: UOM2404-007RTX
Enhanced efficiency nitrogen fertilisers in the grains industry: an opportunity to reduce GHG emissions and increase Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE)
This investment will explore the role of enhanced efficiency fertiliser (EEF) technologies to maximise nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and optimise crop production whilst minimising environmental impacts.
There is increasing pressure from markets, consumers and government to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) footprints across industries, including agriculture. EEFs encompass a range of technologies that use chemical (inhibitors) or physical (controlled-release) approaches to regulate the release of nitrogen (N) and therefore availability to plants. The aim of EEFs is to reduce the risk of N loss through improved synchronisation of fertiliser N supply and crop N demand.
These technologies have been commercially available for more than 20 years, but relatively few investigations have quantified their benefits in terms of reducing N losses whilst maintaining and/or improving crop responses and subsequent return on investment. Higher cost (relative to standard fertiliser N products) and uncertainty of how EEFs behave and perform in the field are key reasons for their low adoption.
There is a need for further research & development to demonstrate the effectiveness of these alternative fertiliser technologies within the grains industry and provide growers with clear recommendations. This investment will generate data on the environmental, agronomic and economic performance of EEFs under field conditions in key soils and climates representative of the Australian grains industry. The N release dynamics in soil, crop N uptake and N losses will be quantified using 15N-labelled fertiliser for the spectrum of commercially available EEF technologies relative to standard fertiliser N products. The research findings will form the basis of published recommendations enabling growers to make informed N fertiliser decisions that result in cost-effective environmental and agronomic outcomes.
- Project start date:
- 01/04/2024
- Project end date:
- 31/05/2028
- Crop type:
-
- All Crops
- Organisation
- The University of Melbourne
- Region:
- North, South, West
- Project status
-
Active
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