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Denitrification can be a significant issue for Prairie grain farmers who rely heavily on fall-applied anhydrous ammonia. The region’s long winters combined with unpredictable weather conditions can increase the risk of nitrogen loss when the snow melts in the spring.
“For most of the Prairies, nitrogen is typically our most limiting nutrient,” says Bryce Geisel, senior agronomist, representative for Koch Agronomic Services in Canada. Once applied, nitrogen can be lost in several ways including denitrification and leaching. “We know that sandy soils are more prone to leaching, and anyone who's got tile in the field could have some leaching losses. Those with heavier soils where you're going to get more saturated conditions such as with higher snowfall over the winter, they're probably going to have bigger losses through denitrification.”
Geisel advocates for the use of nitrification inhibitors, which can help reduce potential losses via denitrification and leaching during the spring that follows a fall application by slowing down the conversion of nitrogen fertilizers to products such as nitrate and ammonia gas.
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