Nutriseed pack innovation: a sustainable solution to minimize ammonia volatilization across soil types

The growing reliance on nitrogen-based fertilizers to fulfil global food demand has prompted worries about nitrogen losses, notably ammonia volatilization, which leads to environmental degradation and lowers fertilizer efficiency. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a new Nutriseed Pack approach in minimizing ammonia volatilization in different soil types. Fertilizer and manure pellets were encapsulated and tested on sandy (loamy sand), red (sandy clay loam), and hilly soils (sandy loam) for 48 days. The experiment was conducted with following treatments viz., T1 – Fertilizer Pellet Pack (FPP) with nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium fertilizer formulation NP(diammonium phosphate - DAP)K; T2 –FPP with NP(single super phosphate - SSP)K; T3-FPP (porous) with NP(DAP)K; T4 – FPP (porous) with NP(SSP)K; T5-Nutri Pellet Pack (NPP) with NP(DAP)K;T6 - NPP with NP(SSP)K;T7 -NPP (porous) with NP(DAP)K;T8 –NPP (porous)with NP(SSP)K; T9 - Surface application of Urea; T10-Surface application of DAP. Ammonia volatilization was monitored at regular intervals, and the amount, rate, cumulative and total per cent volatilization were calculated. The cumulative ammonia volatilization varied significantly with soil type and fertilizer application method. Surface-applied urea resulted in the highest losses, reaching 77.9% in sandy soil, whereas surface-applied DAP exhibited lower ammonia volatilization than surface-applied urea, with losses ranging from 8.8 to 15.6%. Deep placement of Nutripellet Packs substantially reduced ammonia losses, with NP(SSP)K formulations recording ≤2.2% volatilization across soils. Porous encapsulation further enhanced nitrogen retention, particularly in red and hilly soils when combined with manure pellets. These data indicate that the Nutripellet Pack approach can increase nitrogen usage efficiency, minimize environmental impact, and improve fertilizer management practices.