Use of sucrose fatty acid esters in foliar application of urea

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Abstract
Although urea is a good source of nitrogen for foliar application of nitrogen, only a small amount of the urea supplied can be absorbed by the leaves. To increase the absorption of urea by the leaves, the surface must first be wetted to enable urea to penetrate the leaf cuticle or stomata (Frank 1967). The ability of a liquid to wet a solid surface depends on the surface tension of the liquid and on the nature of the solid surface (Boynton 1954). If suitable wetting and spreading agents were to be used in spray solution, it would probably result in the increased absorption of urea on the leaf surface and the prevention of leaf injury. Several authors have reported that the addition of wetting and spreading agents improved the absorption of nitrogen at the leaf surface (Cook and Boynton 1952; Mitsui 1952). Sucrose fatty acid esters (SFE) were developed as food additives. SFE, a non-ionic surfactant is not harmful to human because the hydrolysis of SFE results in the formation of sucrose and fatty acids. Thus SFE can be used for foliar application to nitrogen-deficient plants including leafy vegetables. The objective of this study was to determine whether SFE can increase the utilization of urea in foliar application in senescing plants which require a supplement of nitrogen. Materials and methods Seedlings of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill, cv Fukuju Nigo) and corn (Zea mays L. cv Golden Cross Bantam) were grown in vermiculite beds-in a greenhouse for 2 weeks after germination, and then planted in moist vermiculite in pots (15 cm diameter) which were freely drained. Tomato plants were irrigated once a day with one-fourth strength modified Hoagland solution (Downs and Hellmers 1975) for 2 weeks and corn plants were watered with the same solution for 1 week. The nutrient solution was replaced with the working solution (one-half strength solution), which

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