Correction: Nutriseed pack innovation: a sustainable solution to minimize ammonia volatilization across soil types

In the published article, errors were identified in the Reference list, including duplicate reference entries, incorrect and unresolved DOI assignments, and resultant incorrect in-text citation numbering. These errors occurred during the final stages of manuscript preparation while References were managed using reference management software together with manual formatting and renumbering. During this process, duplicate references were inadvertently retained and several DOI fields became mismatched with the corresponding bibliographic records.

Following notification from the Frontiers Research Integrity Team, every References was manually verified against publisher websites and Crossref records. The following corrections have been made:

• Duplicate reference entries have been removed.
• Incorrect and unresolved DOI entries have been corrected using verified DOI information.
• The remaining references have been renumbered sequentially.
• All corresponding in-text citation numbers have been updated throughout the manuscript to match the corrected reference list.

These corrections relate solely to the References and citation numbering. They do not affect the experimental methods, data, statistical analyses, results, discussion, or conclusions of the published article.

In Section 1 Introduction, fourth paragraph, the sentence “In addition, studies examining the synergistic effects of deep fertilizer placement and bio-based or enhanced-efficiency fertilizer formulations on ammonia mitigation across diverse soils are still limited (25, 26).” has been updated to read:

“In addition, studies examining the synergistic effects of deep fertilizer placement and bio-based or enhanced-efficiency fertilizer formulations on ammonia mitigation across diverse soils are still limited (25)”.

In Section 4 Discussion, third paragraph, the sentences “Excessive nitrogen (N) fertilizer is often utilized in agricultural fields in India, and a significant amount of the N is wasted as ammonia (NH₃) (26). NH₃ volatilization is regarded as the primary channel of N loss in paddy fields (27, 28), accounting for 9-40% of N fertilizer applied in agroecosystems (29, 30). These large N losses from NH₃ volatilization not only raise production costs but also constitute a significant environmental concern (31). Soil NH₃ emissions contribute to oxidized N deposition, with NH₄⁺-N being the major N component in bulk deposition flow (32), and NH₄⁺-N concentration and pH influencing the volatilization of ammonia (33). Ammonia is a key atmospheric pollutant that contributes to the generation of secondary inorganic aerosols, resulting in harmful effects on human health and poor air quality (34).” have been updated to read:

“Excessive nitrogen (N) fertilizer is often utilized in agricultural fields in India, and a significant amount of the N is wasted as ammonia (NH₃). NH₃ volatilization is regarded as the primary channel of N loss in paddy fields (26, 27), accounting for 9-40% of N fertilizer applied in agroecosystems (28). These large N losses from NH₃ volatilization not only raise production costs but also constitute a significant environmental concern (29). Soil NH₃ emissions contribute to oxidized N deposition, with NH₄⁺-N being the major N component in bulk deposition flow (30), and NH₄⁺-N concentration and pH influencing the volatilization of ammonia (31). Ammonia is a key atmospheric pollutant that contributes to the generation of secondary inorganic aerosols, resulting in harmful effects on human health and poor air quality (32)”.

In Section 4 Discussion, fourth paragraph, the sentences “In this investigation, deep application of fertilizer N using the Nutripellet pack approach considerably reduced ammonia volatilization. In line with the current findings, several studies have demonstrated that deep application of nitrogen fertilizer can reduce NH₃ volatilization (35–37), with an emphasis on low N application rates. Deep fertilization can improve fertilizer distribution, minimize nutrient loss, boost nitrogen absorption, and increase crop production (38). Furthermore, in the current investigation, despite the presence of micropores on polycoat paper, the ammonia volatilization reported for NP(DAP)K fertilizer pellet was large and abnormally high at all measurement times when compared to NP(SSP)K. This considerable shift might be attributed to the rapid breakdown and release of diammonium phosphate into the outer solution, which finally causes ammonia volatilization (39, 40).” have been updated to read:

“In this investigation, deep application of fertilizer N using the Nutripellet pack approach considerably reduced ammonia volatilization. In line with the current findings, several studies have demonstrated that deep application of nitrogen fertilizer can reduce NH₃ volatilization (33–35), with an emphasis on low N application rates. Deep fertilization can improve fertilizer distribution, minimize nutrient loss, boost nitrogen absorption, and increase crop production (36). Furthermore, in the current investigation, despite the presence of micropores on polycoat paper, the ammonia volatilization reported for NP(DAP)K fertilizer pellet was large and abnormally high at all measurement times when compared to NP(SSP)K. This considerable shift might be attributed to the rapid breakdown and release of diammonium phosphate into the outer solution, which finally causes ammonia volatilization (37, 38)”.

In Section 4 Discussion, fifth paragraph, the sentences “The findings showed that coarse-textured soils with little to no clay percentage, N treatment through DAP was significantly more vulnerable to ammonia volatilization losses. In agreement with the current investigation, several studies have demonstrated that soils with a high clay percentage have a significant reduction in ammonia volatilization (41, 42). Furthermore, mixing manure pellets with fertilizer pellets resulted in a decrease in ammonia loss only in red soil due to temporary nitrogen immobilization by decomposing manure (43, 44). The low nitrogen immobilization by decaying manure in hill soil might be attributed to the acidic pH conditions, which would have reduced microbial activity (45, 46). Additionally, urea added as an NP(SSP)K pellet had a substantially reduced ammonia volatilization loss than DAP. This might be because the conversion of urea to ammonia requires time-consuming microbial activities such as enzymatic hydrolysis and ammonification (47, 48). Nonetheless, it has been established that organic compounds with a high C/N ratio, such as manure, might delay N release to the soil and enhance microbial N immobilization, hence avoiding N loss (25, 49, 50). Surface-applied urea generally resulted in higher ammonia volatilization due to rapid hydrolysis and localized increases in soil pH. In contrast, diammonium phosphate and deep-placed pellet formulations showed comparatively lower ammonia losses, which can be attributed to improved nitrogen retention and reduced exposure to volatilization-prone surface conditions. Similar trends have been reported in earlier studies highlighting the influence of fertilizer type and placement on ammonia volatilization dynamics (1, 8, 11). Urea and DAP dissolve in the surface soil solution shortly after application. When urea is hydrolyzed into ammonium by microbial processes, it is deprotonated and volatilized as ammonia, which possibly explains the substantial ammonia losses observed in sandy soil for urea (51). However, due to the existence of active clay component in red and hill soil, much of the ammonium would have been fixed to clay surfaces, resulting in lower ammonia losses with surface applied urea (52, 53). Ammonia losses were significantly decreased with surface applied DAP, even in sand, perhaps due to higher retention in solution at dilute concentrations with lower energy for deprotonation and conversion to ammonia gas in the presence of phosphate (54, 55). Furthermore, as compared to urea, DAP would have been swiftly immobilized by microorganisms for synergistic N and P consumption, resulting in reduced volatilization losses (56–58).” have been updated to read:

“The findings showed that coarse-textured soils with little to no clay percentage, N treatment through DAP was significantly more vulnerable to ammonia volatilization losses. In agreement with the current investigation, several studies have demonstrated that soils with a high clay percentage have a significant reduction in ammonia volatilization (39). Furthermore, mixing manure pellets with fertilizer pellets resulted in a decrease in ammonia loss only in red soil due to temporary nitrogen immobilization by decomposing manure (40). The low nitrogen immobilization by decaying manure in hill soil might be attributed to the acidic pH conditions, which would have reduced microbial activity (41). Additionally, urea added as an NP(SSP)K pellet had a substantially reduced ammonia volatilization loss than DAP. This might be because the conversion of urea to ammonia requires time-consuming microbial activities such as enzymatic hydrolysis and ammonification (42, 43). Nonetheless, it has been established that organic compounds with a high C/N ratio, such as manure, might delay N release to the soil and enhance microbial N immobilization, hence avoiding N loss (25, 44). Surface-applied urea generally resulted in higher ammonia volatilization due to rapid hydrolysis and localized increases in soil pH. In contrast, diammonium phosphate and deep-placed pellet formulations showed comparatively lower ammonia losses, which can be attributed to improved nitrogen retention and reduced exposure to volatilization-prone surface conditions. Similar trends have been reported in earlier studies highlighting the influence of fertilizer type and placement on ammonia volatilization dynamics (1, 8, 11). Urea and DAP dissolve in the surface soil solution shortly after application. When urea is hydrolyzed into ammonium by microbial processes, it is deprotonated and volatilized as ammonia, which possibly explains the substantial ammonia losses observed in sandy soil for urea (45). However, due to the existence of active clay component in red and hill soil, much of the ammonium would have been fixed to clay surfaces, resulting in lower ammonia losses with surface applied urea (46, 47). Ammonia losses were significantly decreased with surface applied DAP, even in sand, perhaps due to higher retention in solution at dilute concentrations with lower energy for deprotonation and conversion to ammonia gas in the presence of phosphate (48, 49). Furthermore, as compared to urea, DAP would have been swiftly immobilized by microorganisms for synergistic N and P consumption, resulting in reduced volatilization losses (50–52)”.

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The authors thank the Frontiers Research Integrity Team for identifying the discrepancies.

The original article has been updated.

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