Enhanced-efficiency nitrogen (N) fertilizers (EENFs) such as slow-release polymer-coated urea (PCU) and deep placement of urea briquettes (UBs) improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by reducing N losses and increasing nitrogen uptake by plants. Multilocation field trials (81) with cauliflower were conducted across two agroecological regions covering seven districts during two crop-growing seasons between 2018 and 2020 to assess the potential of three EENFs, i.e., PCU, sulphur-coated urea (SCU) and UB for increasing curd yields, agronomic NUE (AEN) and economic benefits over conventional urea (CU). Results were compared with farmers’ current nutrient management practice (FP): applying CU at 58.5 kg N ha−1 (ranging from 33 to 88 kg N ha−1). The N rates in three EENF treatments were 33% lower (100 kg N ha−1), considering their higher N use efficiency, than for CU (150 kg N ha−1). We hypothesize that EENFs produce similar or even higher yields compared with CU. For both years, all three EENFs resulted in significantly (p < 0.05) higher curd yields than CU (36.7 ± 1.1 t ha−1). PCU, SCU and UB increased yields by 21, 21 and 24% over those for CU. The yield increment was much higher (PCU, 44%; SCU, 43%; UB, 46%) than for FP. Similarly, PCU, SCU and UB increased the partial factor productivity of N (PFPN) by 91, 90 and 94% and the AEN by 133, 129 and 138%, respectively, compared with CU. The gross margins of all three EENFs were similar: an average 25% more than with CU and 51% more than with FP. These results suggest that EENFs could help increase productivity and farmer income while considerably reducing N input, compared to use of CU. The government of Nepal should promote these EENFs by removing barriers to access for the associated fertilizers and foster their use through extension.

缓释聚合物包覆尿素 (PCU) 等高效氮 (N) 肥料 (EENF) 和尿素压块 (UB) 的深层放置通过减少氮损失和增加植物对氮的吸收来提高氮利用效率 (NUE)。在 2018 年至 2020 年的两个作物生长季节，在覆盖七个地区的两个农业生态区对花椰菜进行了多地点田间试验 (81)，以评估三种 EENF 的潜力，即 PCU、硫包尿素 (SCU) 和 UB凝乳产量、农艺 NUE (AE N ) 和相对于传统尿素 (CU) 的经济效益。结果与农民当前的养分管理实践 (FP) 进行了比较：在 58.5 kg N ha -1施用 CU （范围从 33 到 88 kg N ha -1）。考虑到它们更高的氮利用效率，三个 EENF 处理中的氮比率（100 kg N ha -1）比 CU（150 kg N ha -1）低 33%。我们假设 EENF 与 CU 相比产生相似甚至更高的产量。在这两年中，所有三种 EENF 的凝乳产量均显着 (p < 0.05) 高于 CU (36.7 ± 1.1 t ha -1 )。PCU、SCU 和 UB 比 CU 提高了 21%、21% 和 24%。产量增量（PCU，44%；SCU，43%；UB，46%）远高于 FP。同样，PCU、SCU 和 UB 将 N 的部分要素生产率 (PFP​​ N ) 提高了 91%、90% 和 94%，AE N与 CU 相比，分别增加了 133、129 和 138%。所有三个 EENF 的毛利率相似：平均比 CU 高 25%，比 FP 高 51%。这些结果表明，与使用 CU 相比，EENFs 可以帮助提高生产力和农民收入，同时大大减少 N 投入。尼泊尔政府应通过消除获取相关肥料的障碍来促进这些 EENF，并通过推广促进其使用。