The Chinese study, which collected data from 1990 to 2009, found that combining manure with chemical fertiliser led to the highest utilisation of nitrogen and the least amount of loss when compared with other methods.

The study looked at changes in soil under chemical fertilisation, manure incorporated with chemical fertilisers and fertiliser with straw return treatments. It compared nitrogen loss in each of these methods considering leeching, run-off and gas emissions.

The study documented long-term fertilisation experiments in several agricultural regions in China with wheat and corn rotation. The results showed that in both alkaline and acidic soils, the average loss of nitrogen to the environment from the manure incorporation treatments was 20% to 24%, compared with 35% to 63% with other methods.

“This research concludes that manure incorporation with chemical fertiliser not only can achieve high N use efficiency and improve soil fertility, but also leads to the lowest total N loss or damage to the environment,” the scientists wrote.

Organic and mineral fertilisers could improve world’s food supply

Combining manure and fertiliser curbs nitrogen loss – study

The use of manure with chemical fertiliser results in high crop yields and causes the least loss of nitrogen to the environment, according to a recent study published in the journal Nature.