A farmer uses a machine to harvest rice on a paddy in the southeastern port city of Busan on Aug. 23, 2021, after planting an early ripening variety of rice seedlings on April 19. It marked this year’s first rice harvesting in the region. (Yonhap)
SUWON, Nov. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — The excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizers for rice farming results in a sharp increase in the emission of nitrous oxide, the major greenhouse gas contributor, a study indicated Wednesday.
The Gyeonggi-do Agricultural Research & Extension Services doubled the use of nitrogenous fertilizers compared to the standard fertilizing amount (9 kilograms of nitrogen per 10 hectares) for trial rice cultivation during the period from May last year to October this year.
As a result, the generation of nitrous oxides increased by 104 percent to 2,382 gram per hectare compared to the standard fertilizing amount (1,167 g/ha).
It is a well-known fact that the excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizers for dry-field farming increases the generation of nitrous oxides.
However, it was the first time scientists confirmed that the generation of nitrous oxides increases if nitrogenous fertilizers are used excessively for rice farming.
Nitrous oxides are generated primarily from nitrogenous fertilizers used for the cultivation of agricultural crops. The agricultural sector accounts for 62.8 percent of South Korea’s total nitrous oxide generation.
If nitrous oxides flow into the atmosphere, they remain persistent for 120 years with their global warming effect being 310 times stronger than carbon dioxide.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
