Stabilized fertilizers improve nitrogen use efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Agricultural green development is an important issue for global sustainable development, and the efficient utilization of nitrogen fertilizers and environmental emission reduction have always been core challenges faced by China’s agriculture. As a key input in food production, nitrogen fertilizers contribute 45% of China’s grain yield increase and 60% of protein supply in the food chain. However, China’s nitrogen use efficiency was only 42.6% in 2024, which not only causes resource waste but also leads to environmental problems such as about 400 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, 70% of global nitrous oxide emissions, and water eutrophication. How to reduce agricultural non-point source pollution while ensuring food security?

A review study by Professor Weifeng Zhang from the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, pointed out that stabilized fertilizers added with urease or nitrification inhibitors provide an effective path to solve this contradiction. China has achieved technological breakthroughs in this field and become a major global producer. The related paper has been published in Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering (DOI: 10.15302/J-FASE-2025635).

The core of stabilized fertilizers lies in delaying the conversion rate of nitrogen fertilizers in the soil through the scientific addition of inhibitors, reducing losses such as volatilization and leaching, thereby improving crop absorption efficiency. Compared with traditional fertilizers, these products can increase nitrogen use efficiency to more than 50% while reducing nitrogen loss and greenhouse gas emissions. China’s annual output of stabilized fertilizers reaches 3 million tons, accounting for 30% of the global total output, and occupies a leading position in the production of inhibitor raw materials. Domestic production capacities of key inhibitors such as dicyandiamide (DCD), 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP), and nitrapyrin account for 80%, 50%, and 90% of the global total respectively, laying a foundation for large-scale application.

Technological innovation is the key to China’s leadership in stabilized fertilizers. In the past, inhibitors faced problems such as high-temperature decomposition, equipment corrosion, and uneven mixing in fertilizer production. Through material modification and process optimization, domestic enterprises have successfully broken through this bottleneck. For example, the DMPP molecular coating technology developed by Sinochem Group has increased the retention rate of inhibitors in fertilizers from 20%–40% to 60%–70%, realizing “one-time fertilization and full-cycle nitrogen supply” for crops such as maize, reducing chemical fertilizer usage by 10%–20% while increasing yield by 5%–15%. In addition, aiming at different soil and crop characteristics, China has formed a diversified product system, covering special fertilizers for field crops, formula fertilizers for fruit tree water-fertilizer integration, etc., adapting to the needs of 14 types of crops such as apples, rice, and vegetables.

Field trials have verified the comprehensive benefits of stabilized fertilizers. In empirical studies at 23 test sites across the country, such fertilizers increased crop yields by an average of 9.2%. In maize planting in the arid areas of Northwest China, nitrogen use efficiency was significantly improved after the application of compound fertilizers with DMPP and NBPT (urease inhibitor). These results not only alleviate environmental pressure but also increase farmers’ income by about 3000 yuan per hectare through reducing fertilizer usage and improving efficiency, promoting the green transformation of agricultural production methods.

Policy support provides a strong guarantee for the promotion of stabilized fertilizers. At present, demonstration bases have been established in 27 provinces across the country. In 2024, the test area exceeded 2700 hectares, covering crops such as maize, wheat, and potatoes, with an average yield increase of 8%–10%, significantly improving farmers’ awareness and market acceptance of stabilized fertilizers.

As a major agricultural country, China’s technological breakthroughs and application practices in the field of stabilized fertilizers provide a reference for the global green transformation of agriculture. The study points out that the next step is to optimize the inhibitor production process through synthetic biology, improve regulations and standards, and strengthen farmers’ technical training, so that this “green agricultural technology” can better benefit the front line of agricultural production, helping the agricultural green transformation and the realization of global climate goals.