SOILS 415 & on Zoom
Join us Wednesdays at 3:30 for our fall departmental seminar series. This week's guest is Jeppe Kjaersgaard of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Title: "Evaluation of nitrogen inhibitor effectiveness."
Abstract: The use of nitrogen (N) inhibitors is a common practice to improve utilization of N and reduce N losses in crop production. It is listed as an N fertilizer Best Management Practice (BMP) by University of Minnesota Extension. The inhibitors, either urease inhibitors that delay urea conversion to ammonia or nitrification inhibitors that slow conversion of ammonia to nitrate, are widely available and have an annual sale of over $450M in the US and Canada. There are several active ingredients available in the marketplace, of which several are off-patent and are being sold under many different trade names by different companies. Considerable uncertainty exists regarding the effectiveness of many inhibitor products since several of them have not been third-party tested and the application rates vary by product. In addition, inhibitors are generally unregulated by Federal and state agencies, with a few exceptions. As a result, farmers buying inhibitors may not get the value they expect, and nitrogen losses may be higher than expected when using a less-effective product.
There is a need, therefore, to evaluate the efficiency of inhibitor products. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has evaluated the most commonly used active ingredients and products available in the marketplace and is publishing lists of products meeting minimum efficiency requirements. This presentation will discuss the evaluation process, results and outcomes, and what this means for inhibitor use and BMP adoption.
Visit the SWAC website for a full calendar of this semester's seminars.