Urea is a widely used nitrogen fertilizer that provides essential nutrients for plant growth. However, its efficiency is low, and crops only use about 30% of it, resulting in serious economic damage.
How should we solve this problem?
Experts study the combination of different fertilizers, among which Fulvic acid fertilizer, as a natural organic fertilizer, can be combined with urea to improve nutrient utilization efficiency and soil structure and reduce nutrient loss.
Urea, with a chemical formula of CO(NH2)2, is the most common nitrogen-containing fertilizer worldwide. It contains a high proportion of nitrogen (about 46% by weight), making it an effective nitrogen source for plants’ needs. Nitrogen is an important element for plant growth as it is a key component of proteins, nucleic acids, and chlorophyll.
Although the application of urea is important, it also has some drawbacks. One of the main issues is the loss of nitrogen. Much of the applied urea will evaporate and be lost as ammonia gas (NH3). This occurs when the ammonium ions formed by urea hydrolysis are converted into ammonia under alkaline soil conditions.
In addition, nitrogen can leach from soil, especially in highly permeable sandy soils, as nitrate ions have high mobility in soil water. These losses reduce urea’s efficiency as a fertilizer and lead to environmental problems such as air and water pollution.
Fulvic acid fertilizer is a brownish-red substance extracted from humic acid, a complex mixture of organic compounds. Compared with other humus, its characteristic is relatively low molecular weight. Fulvic acid has a high oxygen-to-carbon ratio and contains various functional groups, such as carboxyl (-COOH), phenolic hydroxyl (-OH), and carbonyl (C=O). These functional groups endow Fulvic acid fertilizer with unique chemical properties, including high solubility in water and the ability to chelate or complex with metal ions.
Enhance nutrient solubility and absorption: Fulvic acid can chelate with essential plant nutrients such as iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu). Chelation makes these nutrients more soluble in soil solutions, preventing them from forming insoluble compounds that plants cannot obtain. This increases the availability of plants to absorb these micronutrients.
Soil structure improvement: As a soil amendment, it helps to improve soil structure. Fulvic acid can bind soil particles together to form aggregates. These aggregates improve soil porosity, thereby enhancing aeration and water infiltration in the soil.
Stimulating plant growth: Fulvic acid has been proven to promote plant growth by enhancing various physiological processes. It can increase the activity of photosynthesis, respiration, and nutrient metabolism enzymes.
From this combination, urea is still the main component, supplemented by fulvic acid fertilizer. The fertilizer is still urea, and fulvic acid fertilizer only promotes urea absorption, which can increase the utilization rate of nitrogen fertilizer by 70%.
Everyone knows that urea is a very good nitrogen fertilizer. However, there are few estimates about its absorption principle. Urea cannot be directly absorbed by soil roots; it needs to be converted into ammonium nitrogen or nitrate nitrogen to be absorbed by crop roots, and this process requires the promotion of urease.
Fulvic acid fertilizer can inhibit urease and nitrogenase and lasts about 100 days. This slows the decomposition of urea and limits the absorption efficiency, which avoids wasting a large amount of urea and improves its utilization rate.
When mixed, the phenolic hydroxyl groups and various carboxyl groups contained in fulvic acid fertilizer can bind well with urea molecules, forming chelated urea. When urea combines with Fulvic acid fertilizer, Fulvic acid fertilizer can play a role in reducing nitrogen loss. Fulvic acid fertilizer can bind with ammonium ions, protecting them from volatilization.
The chelating effect of fulvic acid on ammonium ions reduces the availability of free ammonium ions in soil solutions. The root system coefficient of crops is easier to obtain, and the chelated urea is also less likely to be decomposed and lost, which can be considered to improve utilization efficiency.
To promote crop growth fulvic acid fertilizer is a plant growth regulator that has a very good promoting effect on crop root growth. This can improve the absorption of water and fertilizer by crop roots, which enhances their absorption capacity and makes their roots and growth naturally stronger.
Fulvic acid fertilizer stimulates root elongation, enhances microbial activity, and improves water and nutrient absorption. Combined with urea, it can alleviate salt stress and improve crop stress resistance. Improving plant growth also makes crops more resistant to pests and diseases, as healthy and well-nourished plants are more capable of self-defense.
Applying urea and fulvic acid fertilizer combinations in field trials of crops such as corn, wheat, and vegetables increases grain yield, fruit size, and overall crop quality.
Urea’s usage method is topdressing. It is not recommended as a base fertilizer because its concentration is difficult to control and can easily affect germination and root growth.
Mix urea and fulvic acid fertilizer mixture into the soil before crop planting or during the growing season. This can be achieved by spreading dry fertilizer on the soil surface and then cultivating it into the soil. The usual configuration for one acre of land is to add about 30-40 pounds of urea and 50g of Fulvic acid fertilizer.
Fulvic acid fertilizer helps improve urea distribution in soil, ensuring that nitrogen is evenly supplied to plant roots. In addition, the soil-regulating properties of fulvic acid fertilizer are immediately activated upon addition, improving soil structure and nutrient retention capacity.
In foliar application, dilute solutions of urea and fulvic acid fertilizer are directly sprayed onto the leaves of plants. Fulvic acid fertilizer’s small molecular weight allows it to easily penetrate the leaf cuticle while carrying nitrogen from urea. Foliar application can give plants rapid nutrition, especially during critical growth stages such as flowering and fruiting. However, it is important to ensure that the concentration of the solution is appropriate to avoid leaf burns.
Taking wheat as an example, the general concentration configuration is 60 pounds of water, which requires 15-20g of fulvic acid fertilizer and 100-200g of urea. It is recommended to have a lower concentration rather than a higher one.
Apple spraying concentration: The requirement for this concentration is even lower, mainly for the fruit swelling period. Dilute urea solution about 400 times and fulvic acid fertilizer about 3000 times, then mix and spray.
Corn production: In a study conducted in corn planting areas, farmers applied a combination of urea and Fulvic acid fertilizer fertilizers. The results showed that compared with corn treated with urea alone, corn plants treated with compound fertilizer had significantly higher nitrogen absorption. The application of urea Fulvic acid fertilizer combination increased corn yield by 15-20% in the plot. These plants also have more developed root systems and stronger resistance to drought stress.
Vegetable Garden: Applying a urea Fulvic acid fertilizer mixture in a vegetable garden experiment resulted in tomato and cucumber plants bearing larger and richer fruits. This combination improves fruit quality, with higher sugar content and better color development. Over time, the soil structure in the garden has also improved, with a decrease in compaction attributed to the continuous application of Fulvic acid fertilizer.
Soil nutrient cycling: A long-term field experiment focused on studying the effects of urea Fulvic acid fertilizer application on soil nutrient cycling. The results showed that combined application increased soil enzyme activity in nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. The soil microbiome also exhibits a more diverse and active community, contributing to better nutrient availability and plant growth.
Rice cultivation: Experiments using urea rich in Fulvic acid fertilizer increased rice yield by 9.8% while reducing nitrogen fertilizer application by 20%, demonstrating economic and ecological benefits.
Urea is a good nitrogen fertilizer, and its utilization rate is relatively low when used alone. When combined with Fulvic acid fertilizer, it can improve urea’s utilization rate, thereby increasing crop absorption efficiency. For us users, this results in cost reduction and significant improvement in economic benefits. Moreover, the quality and yield of crops grown can also be improved, which can be considered a win-win strategy.
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