Evaluation of Newly Developed Fused Ammonium Sulfate Nitrate Fertilizer for Crop Production.

Granulated or bulk-blended ammonium nitrate (AN) with ammonium sulfate (AS) is a commonly used fertilizer to provide N and S. However, it possesses a potential explosive nature associated with AN. A new ammonium sulfate nitrate (ASN) fertilizer (trade name Sulf-N26) has been developed to solve this problem through a fusion process. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of the fusion process on the agronomic properties of fused ASN.  Granular fused ASN and granulated ASN were surface applied to a calcareous soil. The cumulative amount of NH₃-N volatilized after 15 days was significantly lower from fused ASN than from granulated ASN. In an acid sandy soil, a significant reduction of cumulative leached NH₄-N and SO₄-S, but not NO₃-N, was observed after 75 days from fused ASN compared to granulated ASN. In the greenhouse, incorporated fused ASN, granulated ASN and urea at various N rates were equally effective in increasing wheat grain yield using a neutral soil. Rape was grown to maturity and ryegrass was cut several times on an S-deficient neutral soil with incorporation at various S rates of fused ASN, granulated ASN, or granular monoammonium phosohate (MAP) containing 5% AS-S and 5% of elemental S (ES). The fused and granulated ASN were equally effective in cumulative ryegrass yield or rape straw yield, and fused ASN was more effective in rape seed yield. Both were more effective than MAP (5% AS-S+5% ES-S) at lower S rates. The ES-S did not contribute any available S to ryegrass or rape growth.