Studies on nitrogen losses and crop productivity under various crop establishment techniques

Field experiments were carried out during wet season, 2005 and dry season, 2006 to determine the loss of nitrogen through volatilization and leaching. Pooled data of two seasons indicated that total volatilization and leaching losses were significantly lower in aerobic technique (2.74 and 3.60 kg N ha-1, respectively) compared to transplanting and system of rice intensification technique. Among the sources of N, application of large-sized urea granules recorded significantly lower total volatilization and leaching losses (3.75 and 4.80 kg N ha-1, respectively). However, application of complex fertilizer (17:17:17) as basal and top dressing with urea recorded significantly higher total volatilization and leaching losses of nitrogen (4.09 and 5.05 kg N ha-1, respectively).