Agrium touts new controlled-release fertilizer

News Briefs, Nitrogen, South Central

Sylacauga, Ala.-Agrium Inc. has launched its first new product – a newly formulated controlled-release nitrogen – since combining with Pursell Technologies in summer 2006, according to the company’s advanced technologies unit. Called XCU, the new product, offering higher nitrogen content and improved release technology, was introduced at the Golf Industry Show in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 31 to Feb. 2. “Agrium Advanced Technologies’ XCU has a proprietary coating developed from synergies of our polymer-coated sulfur-coated products, TriKote and SCU, and as a result, we are able to deliver 43 percent nitrogen, which is the highest concentration available within this product category,” Chris Derrick, technical products specialist, reported. He touted distinctively colored XCU as delivering more pounds of nitrogen per ton than any sulfur-coated urea on the market today, and told Green Markets that the new XCU product will replace TriKote and SCU and will be marketed under the Agrium Advanced Technologies name. Others in the Agrium organization were also upbeat about the new product. Advanced Technologies President Bill Boycott declared, “XCU is unique in that this product represents a blending of economics with agronomics. In this way, distributors, formulators and end users alike will benefit from XCU. Some of the benefits include 10 percent more storage space, 10 percent more freight savings and 10 percent more plant throughput. As well, its special manufacturing makes XCU more concentrated and more flowable, so our end users can cover up to three more acres per ton.” Marketing Director John Johnson added that XCU is the exciting result of “cutting-edge innovation (which produced) a proprietary coating process that is an improvement over all other sulfur-coated products.” XCU will be available in three sizes: 43-0-0 regular 250 SGN (sign guide number), 43-0-0 intermediate 200 SGN, and 41-0-0 mini 150 SGN, and will be sold in sold in 1-ton bulk bag, 23-ton bulk truckload, and 100-ton railcar quantities.