Urea, a white crystalline solid containing 46% nitrogen, is widely used in the agricultural industry as an animal feed additive and fertilizer Here we discuss it only as a nitrogen fertilizer.

Physical forms of urea

Commercially, fertilizer urea can be purchased as prills or as a granulated material. In the past, it was usually produced by dropping liquid urea from a "prilling tower" while drying the product. The prills formed a smaller and softer substance than other materials commonly used in fertilizer blends. Today, though, considerable urea is manufactured as granules. Granules are larger, harder, and more resistant to moisture. As a result, granulated urea has become a more suitable material for fertilizer blends.

Advantages of fertilizer urea

• Urea can be applied to soil as a solid or solution or to certain crops as a foliar spray.
• Urea usage involves little or no fire or explosion hazard.
• Urea's high analysis, 46% N, helps reduce handling, storage and transportation costs over other dry N forms.
• Urea manufacture releases few pollutants to the environment.
• Urea, when properly applied, results in crop yield increases equal to other forms of nitrogen.