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Abstract
Mineralization of nitrogen fertilizers was determined in an organic medium composed of 6 pine bark : 3 sand : 1 soil (by volume). Nitrification was evident by day 7 following treatment with urea and isobutylidene diurea (IBDU) and increased rapidly after day 14. Nitrification was not evident until day 56 in medium treated with urea + nitrapyrin (NI). Medium treated with urea or IBDU were depleted of NH4 + within 1 month, which corresponded to a peak in NO2 – + NO3 – accumulation. Only a small amount of NH4 + was not accounted for by nitrification and was assumed to be adsorbed by bark particles. Chemical names used: 2-chloro-6-(trichloromethyl)pyridine (nitrapyrin), 1,1-diureido isobutane (IBDU).
Abstract
Extensive losses in N applied to container-grown woody ornamental plants prompted this investigation to determine a) leaching of N from urea (U) and isobutylidene diurea (IBDU); b) influence of nitrapyrin (NI), a nitrification inhibitor, on N leaching losses from U; and c) to evaluate influences of these materials on growth, quality, and N uptake by Rhododendron obtusum Lindl. cv. Hinodegiri. In root medium composed of 60 pine bark : 30 sand : 10 soil (by volume), 48.8% of applied N from U was leached after 87 days, whereas leachate losses of N from IBDU and U + NI were 42.3% and 37.2%, respectively. All plants attained marketable quality by the end of the study. Azaleas fertilized with IBDU were of significantly higher quality on days 70 and 77 than those treated with U + NI and higher quality on days 77, 84, and 87 than those treated with U. No differences were found in shoot dry weight or N content in shoot tissues.