Nitrogen stabilizer Agrotain Dry has been approved for application to granular urea in Canada.
U.S. fertilizer firm Agrotain International said its urease inhibitor product, already approved for use on UAN (urea ammonium nitrate), has been found by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to meet all requirements for safety and efficacy under federal fertilizer regulations.
While urea is “highly concentrated and relatively easy to handle,” 30 per cent or more of applied urea can be lost through volatilization, North American sales vice-president Steve Phillips said in a release last week.
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Urea “also can be challenging to seed safety when applied at the nitrogen rates that farmers want to use,” said Phillips, who’s based near Chicago.
Agrotain Dry’s formulation is “well suited” for air seeders because the additive goes on dry, as opposed to liquid additives, the company said.
Agrotain Dry cuts volatility and ammonia release following seeding, the company said, adding that its product can be used with granular urea in single-shoot seeders, or as a preplant, side-dress or other surface application on crops such as wheat, canola, flax, small grains, forage corps, corn, vegetables and pasture.
The dry product also handles and mixes well even in cold conditions, Agrotain said.
Farmers can apply it to granular urea in the fall while loading the fertilizer into on-farm storage, or when urea is being loaded in the spring for application, the St. Louis-based company said.
