Controlled Release Fertilizers

ICL is a global leader in controlled release fertilizers. Plants can use nutrients from Controlled Release Fertilizers (CRFs) with great efficiency. Thanks to the high nutrient use efficiency of CRFs and their precise, localized application (at the plant’s root zone), growers worldwide can reduce their fertilizer usage and simultaneously achieve higher quality crops and yields with a lower environmental impact. The use of CRFs can reduce the total use of fertilizers by 20% to even 50% as well as significantly reduce their environmental impact. CRFs can reduce leaching rates by up to 55%, denitrification rates by up to 40% and volatilization rates by up to 40%. \

Revolutionizing Fertilizers with Controlled Release Fertilizers

CRF is considered the fertilizer technology with the highest nutrient use efficiency.

2.4

By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.

Over 50 years ago, the first generation of ICL’s Osmocote Controlled Release Fertilizers revolutionized the industry: an NPK granule with an organic resin coating surrounding it ensured that one application of nutrients would be sufficient for a long period of time. It marked the beginning of a whole new concept in fertilizer application. Thanks to continuous research and development, the first generation of Osmocote was followed by the second, the third, and the fourth. Each equipped with the newest technologies and innovations to improve and grow even better plants in a more sustainable and efficient way. This year, we introduced the fifth generation, Osmocote 5, that rises above all predecessors with an unrivalled performance in plant-matching nutrient release, efficiency and sustainability.

Today, Controlled Release Fertilizers (CRF) are used all over the world in agriculture, horticulture, and professional turf surfaces.

CRF technology is considered the fertilizer technology with the highest nutrient use efficiency. Conventional fertilizers dissolve in soil immediately after application, providing nutrition for only a short period of time. Multiple fertilizer applications are necessary to ensure that the crop receives the nutrition it requires.

As a result of their special coatings, CRF granules release their nutrients gradually over an extended time. Depending on a CRF product’s longevity, nutrient release takes from several weeks to many months. Numerous studies have demonstrated that nitrogen loss to the environment is considerably lower when using CRFs. Moreover, these types of fertilizers are more efficient to use, which also increases crop yields and quality.

One single application of CRFs is sufficient to feed a crop for an entire growing season

Thanks to optimal nutrient use efficiency and precise, localized application (to the plant’s root zone), a much lower NPK input with CRFs is sufficient to reach the same or higher quality crops. Nearly 30 years of ICL trials have proven the strengths of the CRF concept. Depending on circumstances related to cultivation, CRFs can significantly reduce:

Total Fertilizer Use: by a rate of 20% to 50%.
Leaching: by rates at up to 55%.
Denitrification: by up to 40%.
Volatilization: by rates up to 40%. Take a look at this video to see how controlled release technology can reduce volatilization.

For more technical information and trials, please visit the ICL Specialty Fertilizers Knowledge Portal and/or this publication.

12.2

By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.

12.4

By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international framework and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.

Growers worldwide can reduce fertilizer usage and simultaneously achieve higher quality crops and yields with a lower environmental impact.

CRFs are applied in the soil around a plant’s root zone exactly where nutrients are most effective. CRFs contain a coating that ensures that nutrients are only released when the plant needs them. This gradual process provides the plant with nutrition for up to a year, and fertilizers only need to be applied once instead of four times a year.

CRFs use up to 40% less fertilizer than conventional fertilizers. Moreover, all the nutrients are actually utilized by the plant. This prevents nutrient excesses and minimizes losses to the environment through the leaching of nutrients into water sources and volatilization.

Various research studies have also demonstrated that the use of CRFs results in stronger, healthier plants and an equal or even higher yield with lower fertilizer use.

14.1

By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.

15.3

By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.

Use of controlled release fertilizers benefits additional processes as well, such as increasing the nitrogen use efficiency of plants. This increased efficiency means that less nitrogen is volatilized into the air as N2O, a greenhouse gas.

13.3

Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.

CRF technology has been further developed over the past decades, and in recent years ICL has introduced innovative coating technologies such as Osmocote-Exact’s “Double Coating Technology” and “E-Max Release Technology”, and other new innovations, such as NutriMatch-Release technology and OTEA-system that are both incorporated in the newest Osmocote generation, Osmocote 5.

Closing the cycle

Efficient use of our resources is a must for ICL. Our latest circular economy innovation is Pearl® Technology; recycled phosphorus that helps close the phosphorus cycle, reduces losses to the aquatic environment and preserves the primary and finite resources of rock phosphate to produce conventional fertilizers. Pearl® is sustainably recovered from high P water streams, including industrial, mining, food processing, livestock and municipal, utilizing a unique process which allows recovery of a pure struvite granule. Struvite proved to be an asset in plant health and growth, and is incorporated in ICL’s premium CRF range for turf, Sierrablen Plus.

Improving Rice Nitrogen Use Efficiency by Using Controlled Release Fertilizers

Rice is a major staple crop and it is largely produced by small farms, making it a key element in sustaining farming families. It is also the most important food item for calorie intake. For these reasons, increasing the production of this grain is of huge importance.

Modern sustainable agriculture demands an increase in Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE), so it is urgent to find solutions which address these issues, while increasing farmers’ yields and income.

Controlled release (coated) fertilizers offer a predictable and consistent release of nutrients in a specific time period. Since the amount of nitrogen released daily is small and in line with plant uptake requirements, this type of fertilizers can be an ideal tool to reduce nutrient losses and optimize NUE.

The results of a study on rice showed that across all trials using CRF instead of conventional fertilization practices significantly increased (p<0.01) both yield and NUE by 12% and 29%, respectively.

CRF Research Compendium

ICL Specialty Fertilizers has compiled a compendium of independent, scientific CRF research over the years. The compendium provides an overview of the possibilities that CRF offer to achieve environmental benefits through its higher efficiency. This results in higher yields, less leaching, less volatilization and reduced N₂O losses. Official publications like this compendium can play a role in the acceptance of CRF as a solution to more efficient fertilization. In Europe, for example, CRF can play a role to achieve the Farm-to-Fork target of a 50% reduction in nutrient losses.

🡪 Download the CRF Research Compendium here.

The future of CRF

Current controlled release coatings are polymers based on enhanced vegetable oils. This kind of coating degrades slowly and is thus effectively inert in the soil after the nutrients have been released. All ICL polymer coatings are designed to be as thin as possible (as thin as a human hair) and permeable, while still allowing the coating to fulfill its function – controlling the release of nutrients over a pre-defined time period.

To take CRF technology into the future, ICL is focusing on the development of a faster biodegradable coating

Biodegradable coatings will comply with new regulations of the European Union and reduce concerns raised by stakeholders about the welfare of our planet.

Visit the website or LinkedIn to learn more about ICL’s CRFs.

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Controlled Release Fertilizers

Using controlled release fertilizers reduces the carbon footprint. Research from ICL has demonstrated that the controlled release fertilizer Agromaster reduces environmental impact.

ICL assessed the impact of its products on the environment with a method to quantify the environmental impact through its whole lifecycle. An LCA was done on Agrocote (one of the products in the CRF family) with regards to potato cultivation in the Netherlands.

Using Agrocote on every 10.000 ha of cultivated land reduces CO2 footprint equal to:

Planting 387.664 trees
The emissions of 1108 European citizens in a year

It was found that Agrocote has better environmental performance (vs conventional fertilizers) in terms of climate change (~10% reduction), acidification (max. of 20% reduction) and eutrophication (max. of 40% reduction).