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Calculating the age of nitrogen

A professor at the University of Illinois is developing a way to calculate the age of nitrogen, which he says could benefit farmers and the environment.

Praveen Kumar  is in the early stages of research and published initial results in a journal last month.

“We have established a methodology for doing this, and we are now exploring how it can be applied to a larger area.”

He tells Brownfield variables like soil properties, elevation and moisture need to be explored further, but the potential is huge.

“By knowing the distribution of nitrogen and its age, we can perhaps enhance productivity as well as reduce the amount of total nitrogen applied.”

Kumar says his model calculates the age of nitrogen at different soil depths and in various forms.