UREA

[buckhunter10]

I am spreading some UREA over the next few days on some plots.

1. How important is rain?
2. Will it burn things up if you happen to not get rain?

I have rain in forecast for like next 3-5 days. I am hoping it will rain but worry that if it happened to not..... I would be in trouble and ruin an already good plot.

thank you all!

 

[dogghr]

If I am not tilling it in then certainly would prefer rain as you lose much of its effectiveness to oxidation. And if spread on to wet leaves where it will stick it can cause leaf burn so best to have them dry. I spread urea 30 days after brassica planting and rolling over plants does not hurt them but I try to do w rain in forecast. Now if someone could tell me how to trust a forecast that would help.

 

[cutman]

It is 100% essential that:

A) your plants be completely dry before you top dress urea and

B) you get at least .5" of rain in the first 48 hours if you don't want to lose any nitrogen to volatilization.

The air temp, soil temp, soil ph, and humidity all factor in to how much nitrogen is lost to the atmosphere.

That said, you aren't going to lose a ton of nitrogen if you get a good rain in the first week. For a food plotter, it probably won't make a difference. For a farmer with 1000 acres it's a bigger deal.

 

[buckhunter10]

Well thanks. My plant were probably not completely dry as we've been getting rain. However we got smashed with rain this afternoon. I am hoping this helps them get another boost!

 

[buckhunter10]

I didn't notice any sticking tho and the rains came only a few hours later and came hard.

 

[cutman]

You should be fine.

 

[buckhunter10]

You should be fine.

I got more to spread tomorrow. Can you spread in rain?

 

[cutman]

You will probably make a mess in your spreader...can you fill your spreader under cover and then cover the hopper while you are spreading?

I've spread fertilizer in the rain before because I had no other choice, so if you have to do it tomorrow I bet you can make it work. I would clean your spreader really well afterword and then wipe it down with diesel when you're done.

 

[meyerske]

I use coated urea because it is less volatile than uncoated. That way you aren't so much at the mercy of a forecast.

 

[Don M]

Available at most bulk fertilizer plants is the ability to coat urea to prevent volatilization up to 4-6 weeks until you get a rain to dissolve it..They apply the coating while in the mixer hopper by adding a liquid. Carolina Eastern does this here in SC. It is an added cost, but worth the money if you are broadcasting it on the ground and not tilling it in and rain is questionable.. When I purchase a blend, I always ask what form is the nitrogen in. If it is urea I may want to coat it. Sometimes simply adjusting your nitrogen # you can get a much more stable form with out coating. For example 17-17-17 is urea based and 16-16-16 is not.

 

[Kabic]

As walking through the grass today getting my feet soaked by the morning dew I wondered why the dew isn't enough to disolve Urea.

 

[buckhunter10]

Well I got my urea down and it rained for 3-4 hours. So I am golden!

 

[outdoorstom]

Available at most bulk fertilizer plants is the ability to coat urea to prevent volatilization up to 4-6 weeks until you get a rain to dissolve it..They apply the coating while in the mixer hopper by adding a liquid. Carolina Eastern does this here in SC. It is an added cost, but worth the money if you are broadcasting it on the ground and not tilling it in and rain is questionable.. When I purchase a blend, I always ask what form is the nitrogen in. If it is urea I may want to coat it. Sometimes simply adjusting your nitrogen # you can get a much more stable form with out coating. For example 17-17-17 is urea based and 16-16-16 is not.

Hey Don,

I don't understand what being urea based means.....help!

 

[Don M]

The source of nitrogen in a fertilizer mix can come from several sources. One of the common traditional man made forms is ammonium nitrate which is also used for explosives...so it is not readily available to us any more. Urea is produced commercially in a chemical reaction of carbon dioxide and ammonia under heat and pressure and in the end comes out in little beads. There are several other forms of nitrogen such as calcium nitrate available to the blender.... Each can be used to make up the N in the NPK ratio ( such as 21-7-14). Urea happens to be a cheap source for nitrogen, and a good one except for its volatility It is 46-0-0. . Now it can be coated to reduce this volatility
( evaporation) and can lay out on the ground for 4+ weeks waiting on a rain... Hope this explanation was helpful.