Managing yield and soil trace gas fluxes in rice through furrow irrigation and sulfur‐enriched urea

Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) cultivation presents a significant opportunity to reduce methane and nitrous oxide fluxes by adopting optimal irrigation strategies and smart N fertilization. A 3‐year field study was conducted in Northeast Arkansas to evaluate the impacts of flooded and furrow irrigation with either urea or sulfur‐enriched urea (Urea‐S) at 168 kg N ha − 1 on rice yield and soil trace gas fluxes. Gas samples were collected using the flux‐vented chamber method and analyzed via gas chromatography. Furrow irrigation reduced CH 4 fluxes by 90%–100%, but increased N 2 O fluxes by up to 86% relative to flooded irrigation. Urea‐S reduced N 2 O emissions under certain moisture conditions by 67%. Grain yields were >10 Mg ha − 1 across all treatments and were unaffected by irrigation and N fertilizer types. Results highlight the relevance of aligning irrigation strategy with N fertilizer type to successfully reduce N 2 O fluxes.