Controlled-release urea reduced nitrogen leaching and improved nitrogen use efficiency and yield of direct-seeded rice.

The use of controlled-release urea (CRU) has become one of best management practices for increasing crop yield and improving nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE). However, the effects of CRU on direct-seeded rice are not well understood while direct-seeding has gradually replaced transplanting due to increasing labor cost and lack of irrigation water. The objective of this two-year field experiment was to compare the effects of the CRU at four rates (120, 180, 240 and 360 kg N ha, CRU1, CRU2, CRU3 and CRU4, respectively) with a conventional urea fertilizer (360 kg N ha; U) and a control (no N fertilizer applied; CK) on yield, biomass, NUE of direct-seeded rice and soil nutrients. The results indicated that the successive release rates of N from CRU corresponded well to the N requirements of rice. The use of CRU3 and CRU4 increased rice grain yields by 20.8 and 28.7%, respectively, compared with U. In addition, the NUEs were improved by all CRU treatments compared to the U treatment. Concentrations of NO-N and NH-N in the soil were increased, especially during the later growth stages of the rice, and the leaching of N was reduced with CRU treatments. In conclusion, applying CRU on direct-seeded rice increased the crops yields and NUE, increased nitrogen availability at the late growth stages, and reduced N leaching.