Coated Fertilizers Enhanced Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Reducing Ammonia Volatilization While Increasing Crop Yield

ABSTRACT Background Soil nitrogen (N) losses present significant environmental and economic challenges. Therefore, it is imperative to implement strategies aimed at mitigating N loss and improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). Aims We conducted incubation and pot experiments to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of coated urea against conventional urea applications in reducing N loss via ammonium (NH 4 + ) and nitrate (NO 3 − ) release, as well as ammonia (NH 3 ) volatilization and improving crop yield. Methods A pot experiment was conducted to explore the potential of coated urea to enhance the NUE and yield of wheat crops cultivated in two soils with distinct textures. Treatments included (1) no fertilizer control (CK), (2) conventional urea (ordinary urea [OU]), (3) neem‐coated urea (NCU), (4) moringa‐coated urea (MCU), (5) sulfur‐coated urea (SCU), and (6) biochar‐coated urea (BCU). Results The results from the incubation experiment indicated that all the coated fertilization strategies performed well, but BCU significantly reduced NH 3 volatilization up to 34% and 18% more than OU in clay loam and sandy loam soils, respectively, followed by SCU, NCU, and MCU. In pot experiment, the same treatment yielded highest biological (+142% and 127%), straw (+167% and 153%), grain yield (105% and 85%), and 1000‐grain weight (+34% and 49%) than the CK in clay loam and sandy loam soils, respectively. Overall, the trend of coated urea treatment in improving plant physiological and yield parameters was BCU > SCU > MCU > NCU > OU > CK. Moreover, NUE was significantly enhanced in all coated fertilizers compared to CK, with BCU showing the highest increase in NUE (75%) in clay loam soil and 62% in sandy loam soil relative to CK. The order of agronomic and recovery NUE trend is expressed as BCU > SCU > MCU > NCU > OU > CK in sandy loam and clay loam soil. Conclusions All the coated fertilizers performed well, enhanced the NUE, and reduced NH 3 volatilization, but BCU was suggested as the best option among all coated fertilizers to minimize the N losses and balance crop productivity with environmental protection in diverse soil types.