Sulfur-Coated Urea Improves Rice productivity, Nitrogen Use Efficiency, and Soil Nitrogen Dynamics Under Alternate Wetting and Drying System

Efficient management of water and nitrogen (N) is critical for enhancing rice productivity and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). However, the interactive effects of irrigation strategies combined with various coated urea sources (CUS), and nitrogen application rates (NR) on grain yield and NUE are not yet fully elucidated. Field experiments were conducted for two consecutive years to evaluate comparative performance of various coated urea (CU) and conventional/uncoated urea on growth, yield and N use efficiency of both continuous flooding (CF) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation regimes. The study contained; zinc coated urea (ZCU), neem coated urea (NCU), sulphur coated urea (SCU) along with conventional urea (CU) with their application rates i.e. (0 kg/ha or control, 60 kg/ha, 120 kg/ha and 180 kg/ha) in CF and AWD irrigation regimes. Results showed significant effects (p <= 0.05) of twice irrigation regimes, coated urea sources and rates on yield. Coated urea sources and applied nitrogen rates produced more LAI in AWD system (5.3, 5.28) compared to CF (4.98, 5.01) due to substantial increment of leaf area. As compared to CU, application of SCU (120 kg/ha) increased yields by 34.51% in CF and 70.60% in AWD. Besides, soil ammonium and nitrate were higher in AWD with SCU at 120 kg/ha compared to CU and other coated urea sources in CF and AWD systems. Therefore, study provide potential information that N and water management could be effective means to save water, improve NUE and promote rice production.

Journal

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PLANT PRODUCTION

Year

2025

Volume

20

Issue

1

ISSN

1735-6814

eISSN

1735-8043

DOI

10.1007/s42106-025-00386-8

WoS UID

WOS:001642758000001

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