There are a lot of ways that nitrogen can end up out of reach and even more options on how to keep it in place. It can be challenging to know what nitrogen solution is right for your business or operation. Explore the four nitrogen solutions CHS agronomy has to offer for the 2024 growing season.

The nitrogen stabilizer rundown

Nitrogen stabilizers are any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing or hindering nitrogen losses through volatilization, denitrification, and leaching. They help you get the most value from the fertilizer applied to maintain and enhance your crops' health.

Nitrogen stabilizers come in multiple forms, most commonly these include urease inhibitors and denitrification inhibitors. 

Urease inhibitors protect nitrogen above ground. N-(nbutyl) thiophosphoric triamide, commonly known as NBPT, urease inhibitors prevent naturally occurring urease enzymes from breaking down urea-based nitrogen fertilizers, preventing ammonia volatilization.

A denitrification inhibitor, or DCD, helps protect nitrogen below ground by blocking the activity of bacteria that turns ammonium into nitrate, which is susceptible to leaching and denitrification. Leaching moves nitrogen out of the root zone and denitrification changes the form of nitrogen, making it less available for crop update.

The use of nitrogen stabilizer is especially critical during these situations:

• When fertilizer is surface applied, especially to moist soil.
• Under high crop residue. such as reduced or no-till conditions.
• When warm temperatures, high soil pH, and other weather and field challenges lead to increased nitrogen loss at or near the soil surface

How CHS can help

To protect above-ground nitrogen from ammonia volatilization and below-ground nitrogen from denitrification and leaching, CHS agronomy offers N-Edge® nitrogen stabilizers to protect fertilizer investments and are available to farmers through member cooperatives and agricultural retailers across North America.

N-Edge, N-Edge 2 and N-Edge Pro reduce loss of nitrogen to the atmosphere and N-Edge Soil 2 keeps nitrogen available longer in the root zone.

N-Edge is available in four different formulations to better fit your application needs.

N-Edge® helps you fine-tune your fertility programs, reduce greenhouse gases, and grow more from every pound of fertilizer.

N-Edge® 2 is 40.4% NBPT-based nitrogen stabilizer than can be applied to surface applied urea and urea ammonia nitrate (UAN) to prevent the volatilization of ammonia.      

N-Edge Pro is the safety net, using dual modes of action to keep soil free from volatilization and denitrification above ground- and free from leaching below. 

N-Edge® Soil 2 is a high-load DCD nitrogen stabilizer that provides protection against leaching and denitrification with below ground applications.

The N-Edge portfolio creates an enhanced efficiency fertilizer for all crops, penetrates better, dries faster and enables treated fertilizer to perform well under a wide range of conditions and reduces nitrogen losses, providing a better supply for early growth, yield optimization and plant health.

Look to N-Edge from CHS agronomy because when nitrogen stays where it’s supposed to be, crops and growers win.

Visit CHSagronomy.com or talk to your local CHS agronomy retailer about which nitrogen solution you need in 2024.

For more information on nitrogen management, download our nitrogen guide.