Urea phosphate is an organic compound of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and phosphorus. Its formula is CO(NH2)2·H3PO4. It is made by reacting urea with phosphoric acid.
It is sometimes used as a fertilizer; as such, its NPK formula is 17-44-0. It is soluble in water, and produces a strongly acidic solution. Urea phosphate is sometimes added to blends which contain calcium nitrate, magnesium nitrate and potassium nitrate to produce water-soluble formulas such as 15-5-15 and 13-2-20. The acidity of urea phosphate allows Ca, Mg and P to co-exist in solution. Under less acidic conditions, there would be precipitation of Ca-Mg phosphates. Urea phosphate is often used in drip irrigation to clean pipe systems
This is a kind of water soluble crystal structured fertilizer (H3PO4CO(NH2)2) used for phosphorus deficiency in plants. It contains
17,5 % urea (NH2) and 44% phosphorus (H3PO4). As it is soluble in water it can easily be applied by a sprinkler. Physical and chemical properties of urea phosphate fertilizer are given below.
Urea phosphate Details
Urea Nitrogen (N-NH2):17,5% Soluble phosphate (H3PO4):44% Moisture at 25 centigrade :< 0,2% pH 1,6 – 2,4 Insoluble content :< 0,1% Appearance: white crystals. Urea phosphate may not be used together with calcium nitrate or magnesium sulfate fertilizers.
Advantages of urea phosphate fertilizer
Urea phosphate fertilizer has advantages when compared with phosphorus containing fertilizers such as MAP or MKP because it contains urea nitrogen and phosphorus in the form of phosphate. pH of urea phosphate fertilizer is around 2,0;therefore it is an acidic fertilizer. This acidity both facilitates abruption of other nutrients by the plants and also has positive effects on the pH value of water used for watering.
It prevents blockages in watering pipes and nozzles and thereby helps cleaning of the watering system. Urea phosphate dissolves bicarbonate in water and helps to maintain cleanness of watering system. You do not need to use extra acidic formulations with urea phosphate.