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Arable Farming
Cropping
Urea VS AN
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<blockquote data-quote="CornishTone" data-source="post: 6906813" data-attributes="member: 4147"><p>Its quite a complex interaction. AN is, as you say, a salt product so, as the plant rapidly takes up the Nitrate, it has to take up the corresponding amount of water. This means the cells expand as they fill with water and the plant "stands up" as a result. It also means the cell wall becomes thinner as the cell stretches meaning the chlorophyll becomes more visible. These two factors give the illusion of rapid growth and greening. It also means, as the cell wall stretches and becomes thinner, it becomes more susceptible to disease infection and pest damage. The plant can only process the Ammonium and Nitrate at a certain pace regardless of the form it is applied so, all things being equal, the same amount of Nitrogen will give the same growth whether from AN or Urea.</p><p></p><p>Urea requires Urease enzymes to transition from Urea to Ammonium so the plant can begin to use it. This takes time and requires a soil temp of roughly 7 or 8 degrees. As such it tends to be slower availability and the plant takes it up at a more sustainable pace rather than gorging on Nitrate and water so it has the visual effect of being "slower growing", but it should create DM at the same rate as AN ultimately. Urea does require a certain amount of moisture to wash it in and allow the enzyme to do its thing. If left on the surface, heat can cause volatolisation of ammonia over time, but it needs to be in excess of 27degs for that to be a worry.</p><p></p><p>That's a bit of a basic run through the process so I hope it makes sense. There are arguments for and against both products depending on the situation but your friendly fert rep is only really interested in emptying his warehouse, so it pays to know the ins and outs. We are pretty much the only country that uses AN in any real quantity, a result of ICI flipping a coin for AN production or Urea production years ago.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CornishTone, post: 6906813, member: 4147"] Its quite a complex interaction. AN is, as you say, a salt product so, as the plant rapidly takes up the Nitrate, it has to take up the corresponding amount of water. This means the cells expand as they fill with water and the plant "stands up" as a result. It also means the cell wall becomes thinner as the cell stretches meaning the chlorophyll becomes more visible. These two factors give the illusion of rapid growth and greening. It also means, as the cell wall stretches and becomes thinner, it becomes more susceptible to disease infection and pest damage. The plant can only process the Ammonium and Nitrate at a certain pace regardless of the form it is applied so, all things being equal, the same amount of Nitrogen will give the same growth whether from AN or Urea. Urea requires Urease enzymes to transition from Urea to Ammonium so the plant can begin to use it. This takes time and requires a soil temp of roughly 7 or 8 degrees. As such it tends to be slower availability and the plant takes it up at a more sustainable pace rather than gorging on Nitrate and water so it has the visual effect of being "slower growing", but it should create DM at the same rate as AN ultimately. Urea does require a certain amount of moisture to wash it in and allow the enzyme to do its thing. If left on the surface, heat can cause volatolisation of ammonia over time, but it needs to be in excess of 27degs for that to be a worry. That's a bit of a basic run through the process so I hope it makes sense. There are arguments for and against both products depending on the situation but your friendly fert rep is only really interested in emptying his warehouse, so it pays to know the ins and outs. We are pretty much the only country that uses AN in any real quantity, a result of ICI flipping a coin for AN production or Urea production years ago. [/QUOTE]
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Urea VS AN
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