Sustainable nitrogen management in rice cultivation under stress prone areas in Asia

Multi-location experiments were conducted under drought, submergence and saline conditions in Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar to determine the effects urea deep placement (UDP) vs broadcast prilled urea (PU) on rice yields, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and economic returns. UDP increased grain yields, reduced N losses including nitrous oxide emissions and increased NUE significantly compared to broadcast PU.

Under drought condition, UDP increased grain yields by 12% (Bangladesh) to 21% (Nepal) compared to broadcast PU. Similarly, under saline condition, yield increment ranged from 10% (Bangladesh) to 40% (Myanmar) while saving urea fertilizer by up to 50%. Similar yield benefits and fertilizer savings were observed under submerged condition in Bangladesh and Myanmar.