Controlled-release fertilizer (CRF): A green fertilizer for controlling non-point contamination in agriculture

Article type: Research Article

Authors: MAO, Xiao-yun | SUN, Ke-jun | WANG, De-han | LIAO, Zong-wen

Affiliations: College of Resource and Environmental Sciences, South China Agriculture University, Guangzhou 510642, China

Note: [] Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Fertilizers contribute greatly to high yields but also result in environmental non-point contamination, including the emission of greenhouse gas (N_2O) and eutrophication of water bodies. How to solve this problem has become a serious challenge, especially for China as its high ecological pressure. Controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) has been developed to minimize the contamination while keeping high yield and has become a green fertilizer for agriculture. Several CRFs made with special coating technology were used for testing the fertilizer effects in yield and environment through pot experiment and field trial. The result indicated that the CRFs had higher N use efficiency, thus reducing N loss through leaching and volatilization while keeping higher yields. Comparing with imported standard CRFs, the test on CRFs showed similar fertilizer effect but with much lower cost. CRFs application is becoming a new approach for minimizing non-point contamination in agriculture.

Keywords: controlled-release fertilizer, N use efficiency, non-point contamination

Journal: Journal of Environmental Sciences, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 181-184, 2005