<p>Low nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of crop plants from applied urea and widespread soil boron (B) deficiency are important factors limiting crop productivity. Boron coated urea (BCU) may be applied to compensate B requirements as well as help improve NUE of crop plants grown on alkaline soils. Present study aimed to slow down mineral nitrogen (N) release and B fortification of sunflower grown in alkaline soils using BCU. In laboratory experiment, soil was treated with different formulations of BCU at 150&#xa0;kg N ha^-1 and incubated for one month. The best performing formulations in managing mineral N release from incubation study [BCU 1 (borax at 1% + castor oil at 0.6%) and BCU 2 (borax at 1% + mustard oil at 0.6%)] were tested under pot experiment. To examine B coating on urea, BCU was further characterized for various morphological and structural traits. Results indicated that BCU inhibited the release of ammonium-N (NH₄-N) and subsequently slowed down its conversion to nitrate-N (NO₃-N) compared to plain urea. In a pot experiment, both BCU 1 and BCU 2 formulations improved the growth, yield, NUE, and B uptake of sunflower, however, BCU 2 accomplished the maximum position in competing the all treatments. Moreover, morphological and structural characterization further affirmed the BCU 2 as slow release formulation. This study underlines BCU potential as a viable substitute for conventional urea fertilizer in sunflower cultivation. The insights gathered from this research will contribute to sustainable agricultural practices in sunflower farming systems.</p>