Recovery and Leaching of 15N-Labeled Coated Urea in a Lysimeter System in the North China Plain

The effectiveness of polyolefin-coated urea (Meister-5 and Meister-10; CU) in a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-maize (Zea mays L.) rotation system was studied in lysimeter plots located in the North China Plain for three consecutive maize-wheat-maize cropping seasons. An isotopic method was used to compare the fate of CU to that of non-coated urea (NCU), and N application rates of 0, 100, 150 and 225 kg N ha−1 were evaluated. The results showed that the nitrogen use efficiency (15NUE) of CU was 13.3%–21.4% greater than that of NCU for the first crop. Alternatively, when the difference method was applied (apparent NUE), no significant variations were observed among treatments in all three seasons. Although inorganic N leached from the 1.3 m layer was less than 1% of the total applied N, unidentified losses of 15N (losses of 15N = 15N applied as fertilizer –15N absorbed by crops –15N remaining in the 0–0.2 m layer –15N leached from the 1.3 m layer) in CU-treated plots were 24.2%–26.5% lower than those of NCU-treated plots. The nitrate concentration in the 0–1.3 m layer of CU plots at the end of the experiment was 53% lower than that of NCU-treated plots. Thus, CU increased crop N uptake from fertilizer and reduced unidentified losses of applied N, which can reduce the risk of groundwater pollution.