Release Pattern of Urea from Metal-urea-clay Hybrid with Montmorillonite and Its Impact on Soil Property

Urea intercalated into montmorillonite (MT) exhibits remarkably enhanced N use efficiency, maintaining its fast effectiveness. This study dealt with the release property of urea from metal-urea-clay hybrid with MT (MUCH) under continuous-flow conditions and the cumulative impacts of its successive application on physicochemical properties of soils. Releases of urea were completed within 4 hrs under continuous-flow condition regardless of the types and the leaching solutions. However, urea release property was significantly affected by both the form of fertilizer and the presence of electrolytes in solution. The fast release property of urea from MUCH in continuous-flow condition was not significantly affected by soil properties such as soil pH and soil texture. In addition, its successive application did not lead to any noticeable change in soil physicochemical properties, water stable aggregate rate, water holding capacity and cation exchange capacity in both sandy loam and clay loam soils. Therefore, this study strongly supported that urea intercalated into MT could be applied as fast-effective N fertilizer, in particular for additional N supply.