A range of enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEFs) have been developed in response to widespread recognition of poor nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE) in agriculture; however, their effective utilization is not properly understood when applied in sub-surface bands. This study quantified soil chemical changes and the distribution of N species that arose from sub-surface banding of urea, a controlled release polymer-coated urea (PCU) and urea coated with either nitrification inhibitors (NIs) or a urease inhibitor (UI), over 71 days in a field trial. Banding NIs extended the duration of nitrification inhibition for up to 50 days longer than banded urea, although the duration of NI-conferred inhibition was dependant on the rate of NI-urea application. The UI preserved urea-N at a concentration which was 16-fold higher cf. standard urea over 7 days, but no urea-N was detected after 21 days. This suggests that the NUE benefits of UIs are transient when applied in sub-surface bands. Slow release of urea-N from banded PCU resulted in lower concentrations of N in the soil solution. This reduced N dispersal by ca. 50 mm cf. urea, resulting in a N-enriched zone which was considerably smaller. Relatively benign chemical conditions around PCU bands enabled rates of nitrification (NH₄–N:NO₃–N ratio of 46%) which were similar to urea. Collectively, these results demonstrate the relative efficacy and risks of the different EEF technologies, when applied in fertilizer bands. This knowledge supports the effective utilization of band-applied EEFs for improved NUE in agricultural systems.

为了广泛认识到农业中氮（N）利用率低（NUE）的问题，人们开发了一系列增强肥料（EEF）。然而，当将其用于次表带时，对它们的有效利用尚不了解。这项研究量化了土壤化学变化以及尿素，控释聚合物包被的尿素（PCU）和硝化抑制剂（NIs）或尿素酶抑制剂（UI）包被的尿素的地下带​​引起的N物种的分布，在实地试验中超过71天。结合氮的抑制作用比结合尿素的结合延长了硝化抑制作用的时间长达50天，尽管结合NI抑制作用的持续时间取决于NI-尿素的施用率。UI将尿素氮的浓度提高了16倍，比照。标准尿素超过7天，但21天后未检测到尿素氮。这表明，将UI应用于表面下带时，其NUE好处是短暂的。从带状PCU中缓慢释放尿素氮会导致土壤溶液中氮的浓度降低。这使氮的扩散减少了约。50毫米比照。尿素，导致N富集区小得多。PCU频段周围相对温和的化学条件使硝化速率提高（NH ₄ -N：NO ₃-N比为46％），与尿素相似。总的来说，这些结果证明了在肥料带中使用不同EEF技术的相对功效和风险。该知识支持有效利用频带应用的EEF，以改善农业系统中的NUE。