Method of soil nitrification inhibition by application of a stabilized fumigant composition

Abstract

A stabilized fumigant composition comprises an aqueous solution containing up to about fifty percent by weight of a solute which comprises ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and carbon disulfide. Elemental sulfur can also be a component of the solute. One preferred composition comprises a solution wherein the molarity of hydrogen sulfide is about 1.5 times the molarity of carbon disulfide, and is about one-half the molarity of ammonia, and wherein the molarity of sulfur is about 1.6 times the molarity of carbon disulfide. The composition decomposes in a soil environment to form sources of available plant nutrients, including ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and sulfur, and carbon disulfide which inhibits nitrification and decreases the nematode population. Nutrient content can be enhanced by the addition of, for example, ammonia, ammonium nitrate, urea and mixtures thereof to the formed composition. The composition can also be decomposed by dilution or heat application, or both, to yield its components for non-soil fumigation uses.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.