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The main discoveries and advances in the development of industrial processes for the most commercially used phosphate fertilizers in the world (single superphosphate, triple superphosphate, monoammonium phosphate, and diammonium phosphate) occurred from 1830 to 1970, followed by improvements and investments to expand worldwide production capacity. A main opportunity now is aggregating new technologies to conventional phosphate fertilizers so they may become even more efficient in supplying P to plants, which involves research related to the technologies for reduction in soil P losses. Thus, some innovations and technologies have begun to be developed and marketed and continue in continual refinement and adoption in agriculture worldwide to reduce conversion of soluble P applied through conventional phosphate fertilizers into unavailable forms in the soil. This is the case of enhanced efficiency fertilizers, which includes groups of phosphate fertilizers with fixation inhibitors and the chemically modified, controlled-release, blends, multifunctional, and synergistic phosphate fertilizers. The technologies presented in detail in this paper were developed to improve the agronomic efficiency of phosphate fertilization in comparison with conventional fertilizers, with costs varying according to raw materials, production technologies, and distance from the consumer market. This synthesis expands knowledge regarding technologies in use, stimulating the development and application of technologies that increase nutrient efficiency, based on results obtained through suitable methods and equipment along with laboratory, greenhouse, and field results. Increased fertilization efficiency should always be linked with greater economic profitability and the lowest environmental impact, following the principles of sustainability and circular economy. The great challenge for innovation is transforming the knowledge generated regarding fertilizers present in patents and scientific publications into technologies appropriate for the fertilizer market and for adoption in agriculture.

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The adoption of technologies for N fertilization has become essential for increasing the N use efficiency in no-till (NT) systems in Brazil. Thus, this study aimed to quantify ammonia losses, N removal in grains, and second crop season yield in no-till and conventional (T) areas that received the application of different N fertilizers and their technologies. Ammonia volatilization, N extraction in grains, and corn yield in response to the application of conventional fertilizers were compared to urea treated with urease inhibitors in NT and conventional systems. The treatments were: no-N (Control); Prilled urea (PU); urea + N-(n-Butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (UNBPT); urea + Cu + B (UCuB); ammonium nitrate (AN), and ammonium sulfate (AS). In the NT system, the N-NH3 losses were 49% higher than in the conventional; without differences in corn yield. The fertilizers AN and AS had the lowest N-NH3 losses, regardless of the tillage system. UNBPT reduced the mean N-NH3 loss by 33% compared to PU. UNBPT (1200 mg kg−1) and UNBPT (180 mg kg−1) reduced the N-NH3 losses by 72% and 22%, respectively, compared to PU in the NT system. We noticed that the NBPT concentration to be used in soils under NT should be adjusted, and a reduction of N-NH3 losses does not directly reflect an increase in yield and N extraction by corn.

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