Biochar and urease inhibitor mitigate NH3 and N2O emissions and improve wheat yield in a urea fertilized alkaline soil

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 17413
• Main Authors: Dawar, Khadim, Fahad, Shah, Jahangir, M. M. R., Munir, Iqbal, Alam, Syed Sartaj, Khan, Shah Alam, Mian, Ishaq Ahmad, Datta, Rahul, Saud, Shah, Banout, Jan, Adnan, Muhammad, Ahmad, Muhammad Nauman, Khan, Aamir, Dewil, Raf, Habib-ur-Rahman, Muhammad, Ansari, Mohammad Javed, Danish, Subhan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 31.08.2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/449; 704/172; 704/172/169/896; Alkaline soils; Ammonia; Biomass; Charcoal; Crop production; Crop yield; Cultivation; Emissions; Grain; Grain cultivation; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Nitrous oxide; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Urea; Urease; Wheat
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-96771-0

In this study, we explored the role of biochar (BC) and/or urease inhibitor (UI) in mitigating ammonia (NH 3 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) discharge from urea fertilized wheat cultivated fields in Pakistan (34.01°N, 71.71°E). The experiment included five treatments [control, urea (150 kg N ha −1 ), BC (10 Mg ha −1 ), urea + BC and urea + BC + UI (1 L ton −1 )], which were all repeated four times and were carried out in a randomized complete block design. Urea supplementation along with BC and BC + UI reduced soil NH 3 emissions by 27% and 69%, respectively, compared to sole urea application. Nitrous oxide emissions from urea fertilized plots were also reduced by 24% and 53% applying BC and BC + UI, respectively, compared to urea alone. Application of BC with urea improved the grain yield, shoot biomass, and total N uptake of wheat by 13%, 24%, and 12%, respectively, compared to urea alone. Moreover, UI further promoted biomass and grain yield, and N assimilation in wheat by 38%, 22% and 27%, respectively, over sole urea application. In conclusion, application of BC and/or UI can mitigate NH 3 and N 2 O emissions from urea fertilized soil, improve N use efficiency (NUE) and overall crop productivity.