Spanish term (edited): estad�o de ahijamiento

Hello anna,

check this out and hope it helps:

Suggested Points for Management Consideration: With the extensive rainfall recently obtained in several areas, some rice farmers have escaped the early seedling stage without the need to flush. However, as the rice approaches the tillering stage, these fields need to be dry for nitrogen fertilizer application. Because preflood nitrogen sets the yield potential of the varieties currently produced, it is critical to manage the preflood nitrogen as efficiently as possible. Urea has been the standard nitrogen fertilizer source for rice for many years. However, it does have limitations that can make it inefficient when not applied and managed appropriately. Nitrogen derived from urea is prone to ammonia volatilization losses when it is applied to the soil surface. When urea is applied to dry soils, establishing the flood incorporates the urea into the soil to minimize this loss. However, when the soil is muddy at application or if several days are required to establish the flood, the amount of nitrogen lost by ammonia volatilization increases. Ammonia volatilization tends to be amplified when urea is applied to wet soils. Application of urea into the water after flood establishment, during the rice vegetative stage, is the least efficient method, with as much as 75% loss possible.

http://www.aragriculture.org/News/cropreport/2003/HTML/May14...

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Note added at 16 mins (2005-08-09 10:34:19 GMT)
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Just realised my confidence level is high!!!! should be medium!!!!!