Effect of coated urea and NPK-fertilizers on spring wheat yield and nitrogen use efficiency

Among the factors that increase the efficiency of mineral fertilizers, due consideration has lately been given to the development and study of fertilizers with various granule coatings. This study is focused on the test of urea and NPK fertilizers, with granules coated with 50 and 100 μm monocalcium phosphate. Two-year greenhouse trials with spring wheat were carried out on soddy-podzolic light loamy soil. Coated fertilizers have proven to be more effective than traditional ones. For instance, using coated urea improved the yield 10-11% compared to conventional fertilizer. At the same time, the weight of one plant increased by 9-11% and the weight of the ear by 10%, the number of grains in the ear was by 4-7% bigger. Similar results were obtained with NPK fertilizer. Providing a thicker coating from 50 to 100 μm significantly increased the efficiency of both urea and NPK fertilizers.