Nitrogen Placement & Microbiology Research by Dr. John Murphy

AgXplore's Director of Agronomy Presents In-Depth Research on Nitrogen Placement & Microbiology to help prepare you for your upcoming Nitrogen Applications.
Dr. John Murphy's presentation covers the nitrogen cycle, focusing on nitrogen inputs and losses in soil. He discusses methods to maintain nitrogen in the rooting zone without disrupting soil biology, using Accelerated Nitrogen Technology (XN Technology). The talk includes two multi-year, third-party studies demonstrating how XN Technology improves nitrogen retention and reduces leaching. The research highlights that this technology effectively holds nitrogen where plants need it, thereby optimizing fertilizer investment and preserving soil microbiology.
Get The Most Out Of Your Nitrogen Investment
What’s the difference between nitrogen stabilizers and nitrogen management?
At AgXplore, we think there’s a big difference. When we talk about above-ground nitrogen stabilization, there’s one product and one compound that is used in agriculture today, and it’s NBPT, a urease enzyme inhibitor. We use it because there is an enzyme that is produced by bacteria, and it lies on top of the soil’s surface. This enzyme works to volatilize nitrogen into the atmosphere. NBPT stops that volatility from happening and is usually active for about 14 days on top of the soil after application.
Nitrogen management is different because it happens below ground (in your soil CEC). More on that in a bit, but first let’s walk through the process of how nitrogen reacts in the soil profile. For example, using anhydrous, we knife NH3 into the soil and when that happens, hydrogen is added quickly and forms NH4+.
NH4+ in the soil profile is in plant-available form. It then converts to nitrite, which is a negatively charged ion. Then it’ll convert to nitrate, which is in plant-available form and is a negatively charged ion. Ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (N03-) are the only ways a plant can take up nitrogen. Using nitropyrene and DCD products works to inhibit or kill the bacteria that causes ammonium to convert to nitrite and nitrate and keep it as NH4+.
The 4 Rs of Fertilizer Management
Right product, right rate, right time, and right place: the 4 Rs of fertilizer management. At AgXplore, we believe placement is the key when it comes to nitrogen management because we know what happens to nitrogen: it becomes negatively charged. The soil is also negatively charged, which means your nitrogen investment is going to eventually leach out of the soil profile. Not all soils are created equally; some soil CECs are heavier than others. CECs are like parking spaces for positively charged ions. Since our ammonium is positively charged, we assume it’ll be attached to those negatively charged “parking spaces” in the soil, but that’s not always the case. If you’re in a lower CEC, or your base saturations are maxed out, you don’t have any “parking spaces” available. Your nitrogen investment needs to reach down further in the soil profile, blowing right past the root system which lives in the upper inches of the soil.
Let’s Talk About the 5th R - Right Technology
At AgXplore, we believe in the 5th R in nutrient management and have created a technology that ensures plants get nitrogen in a timely fashion, and we do it by the placement of nitrogen. Xcelerated Nitrogen Technology (XN Technology), is a nitrogen management tool- NOT a nitrogen stabilizer - and it’s a biodegradable, highly negatively charged calcium polymer. The calcium interacts with the soil and bumps hydrogen off (because it’s the smallest nutrient), and then hydrogen attaches to your anhydrous to form NH4+. Once that is formed, it’s attached to the negatively charged band created by XN Technology and stays in the root system.
XN Technology is found in AgXplore’s line of nitrogen management aids including Nzone GL, NZone Max, ContaiN, Contain Duo and ContaiN Advanced.
The ContaiN family has NBPT plus XN Technology which is key for those who blow urea or UAN over the top. When you impregnate urea with a ContaiN product, it’ll have NBPT to control volatility, and as soon as it rains or you run a pivot irrigation, that nitrogen will get into the soil CEC and stay in the profile.
When you are applying nitrogen, you should be applying XN Technology or you are missing out.
AgXplore and XN Technology work at managing nitrogen in the root zone where your plants need it most and allow you to take your investment further.