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Polymers
Volume 13
Issue 18
10.3390/polym13183170
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Article

Zinc Plus Biopolymer Coating Slows Nitrogen Release, Decreases Ammonia Volatilization from Urea and Improves Sunflower Productivity

by
Maqsood Sadiq
1,
Usama Mazhar
2,
Ghulam Abbas Shah
1,
Zeshan Hassan
3,
Zahid Iqbal
4,
Imran Mahmood
1,
Fahad Masoud Wattoo
5,
Muhammad Bilal Khan Niazi
6,
Atiku Bran
1,
Kamusiime Arthur
1,
Nadeem Ali
7 and
Muhammad Imtiaz Rashid
7,*
1
Department of Agronomy, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan
2
College of Forestry, Sichuan Agriculture University, Chengdu 611120, China
3
Bahadur Sub Campus, College of Agriculture, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Layyah 31200, Pakistan
4
Institute of Soil Science, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan
5
Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan
6
Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
7
Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Polymers 2021, 13(18), 3170; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13183170
Submission received: 17 August 2021 / Revised: 8 September 2021 / Accepted: 10 September 2021 / Published: 18 September 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biopolymers: Recent Progress and New Perspectives II)
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Abstract

Currently, the global agriculture productivity is heavily relied on the use of chemical fertilizers. However, the low nutrient utilization efficiency (NUE) is the main obstacle for attaining higher crop productivity and reducing nutrients losses from these fertilizers to the environment. Coating fertilizer with micronutrients and biopolymer can offer an opportunity to overcome these fertilizers associated problems. Here, we coated urea with zinc sulphate (ZnS) and ZnS plus molasses (ZnSM) to control its N release, decrease the ammonia (NH3) volatilization and improve N utilization efficiency by sunflower. Morphological analysis confirmed a uniform coating layer formation of both formulations on urea granules. A slow release of N from ZnS and ZnSM was observed in water. After soil application, ZnSM decreased the NH3 emission by 38% compared to uncoated urea. Most of the soil parameters did not differ between ZnS and uncoated urea treatment. Microbial biomass N and Zn in ZnSM were 125 and 107% higher than uncoated urea, respectively. Soil mineral N in ZnSM was 21% higher than uncoated urea. Such controlled nutrient availability in the soil resulted in higher sunflower grain yield (53%), N (80%) and Zn (126%) uptakes from ZnSM than uncoated fertilizer. Hence, coating biopolymer with Zn on urea did not only increase the sunflower yield and N utilization efficiency but also meet the micronutrient Zn demand of sunflower. Therefore, coating urea with Zn plus biopolymer is recommended to fertilizer production companies for improving NUE, crop yield and reducing urea N losses to the environment in addition to fulfil crop micronutrient demand.
Keywords: biopolymer; coatings; microbial biomass; nitrogen losses; nutrient utilization efficiency; zinc coated urea biopolymer; coatings; microbial biomass; nitrogen losses; nutrient utilization efficiency; zinc coated urea

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MDPI and ACS Style

Sadiq, M.; Mazhar, U.; Shah, G.A.; Hassan, Z.; Iqbal, Z.; Mahmood, I.; Wattoo, F.M.; Khan Niazi, M.B.; Bran, A.; Arthur, K.; et al. Zinc Plus Biopolymer Coating Slows Nitrogen Release, Decreases Ammonia Volatilization from Urea and Improves Sunflower Productivity. Polymers 2021, 13, 3170. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13183170

AMA Style

Sadiq M, Mazhar U, Shah GA, Hassan Z, Iqbal Z, Mahmood I, Wattoo FM, Khan Niazi MB, Bran A, Arthur K, et al. Zinc Plus Biopolymer Coating Slows Nitrogen Release, Decreases Ammonia Volatilization from Urea and Improves Sunflower Productivity. Polymers. 2021; 13(18):3170. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13183170

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sadiq, Maqsood, Usama Mazhar, Ghulam Abbas Shah, Zeshan Hassan, Zahid Iqbal, Imran Mahmood, Fahad Masoud Wattoo, Muhammad Bilal Khan Niazi, Atiku Bran, Kamusiime Arthur, and et al. 2021. "Zinc Plus Biopolymer Coating Slows Nitrogen Release, Decreases Ammonia Volatilization from Urea and Improves Sunflower Productivity" Polymers 13, no. 18: 3170. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13183170

APA Style

Sadiq, M., Mazhar, U., Shah, G. A., Hassan, Z., Iqbal, Z., Mahmood, I., Wattoo, F. M., Khan Niazi, M. B., Bran, A., Arthur, K., Ali, N., & Rashid, M. I. (2021). Zinc Plus Biopolymer Coating Slows Nitrogen Release, Decreases Ammonia Volatilization from Urea and Improves Sunflower Productivity. Polymers, 13(18), 3170. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13183170

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