Micronutrient and specialty fertilizer producer ADOB has added two new calcium nitrate (CN) products to its portfolio.

“Ammonium in fertigation systems is not in the form of nitrogen that we would want. We want the nitrate form because plants prefer it,” said Bartlomiej Aniola, Export Area Manager, ADOB, speaking at the 23rd New AG International Annual conference in Bangkok.

The company from Poland has produced a calcium nitrate product with almost zero ammonium. The product specifications shared by Aniola show that nitrogen in the ammonium form is less than 0.1% w/w.

Aniola said it took the company one year to perfect the process, which produces a granule that requires no anti-caking agent.

The second development is a calcium nitrate product with the addition of glycine, which is one of the 20 standard amino acids found in the proteins of living organisms.

Aniola said that this was the first time ADOB, which was acquired by Nouryon in 2022, had added a biostimulant to a product. Synthetic glycine is readily available.

Glycine has a range of functions. In his presentation, Aniola said the amino acid was a precursor to the synthesis of chlorophyll, being involved in the formation of the porphyrin ring in chlorophyll molecules.

The new ADOB product contains 0.5% m/m of glycine with CN. Aniola presented trial results of the new product applied to the root and as a foliar. The SPAD index is used to estimate the chlorophyll content in plant leaves.

High SPAD values indicate high chlorophyll and nitrogen content, suggesting healthy and well-nourished plants, according to one of Aniola’s slides.

The New AG International Annual conference will next year be held in Madrid, Spain – 27-29 April 2026 – and will again be highlighting the latest advances in specialty fertilizer. Sign-up and register your interest here.