EFFICACY OF LIQUID NANO UREA

Context

A two-year field experiment on the efficacy of nano urea by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Ludhiana has found a significant decrease in rice and wheat yields when compared to conventional nitrogen (N) fertilizer application.

Key Findings about the Efficacy of Liquid Nano Urea

1. Decline in grain nitrogen content: declined by 17% in rice and 11.5% in wheat.
2. Decline in yield: With decline in nitrogen content overall productivity of rice and wheat. There was a 21.6% decrease in wheat yield and a 13% decrease in rice yields with the use of nano urea decline.

• This may lead to challenge of Food Insecurity in the country.

3. Higher cost: The cost of nano urea formulation was 10 times higher than that of granular urea.

• This will ultimately impact the economic condition of farmers.

4. Decrease in Ground Mass and Root Volume: The PAU field experiments also revealed that the above ground biomass and root volume were reduced after nano urea application.
5. Conventional Urea is more efficient: According to scientists, even if 100 percent use efficiency is achieved by this nano formulation, the required nitrogen nutrient could not be provided to the growing crop compared to nitrogen provided by 45 kg of conventional urea.
6. Scientists’ conclusion: Results are not encouraging and the use of IFFCO nano urea cannot be recommended for rice and wheat. It may further take 5-7 years for nano urea to reach efficacy equal to nano urea.

About Urea:

1. Urea is one of the most concentrated nitrogenous fertilizers, which readily converts to ammonia in the soil — an essential macronutrient for plant functions.
2. Normal urea contains 46% of a single plant nutrient i.e. Nitrogen.
3. India is one of the largest consumers of chemical fertilizers in the world.
4. Urea is India’s most widely used fertilizer, with its consumption rising from 26.7 million tonnes  to 35.7 mt between 2009-10 and 2022-23.
5. It is import dependent-In 2022-23, 7.6 million metric tons of urea were imported out of a total of 35.7 mt consumed, raising significant concerts.

About Nano Liquid Urea:

1. Nano urea contains nitrogen in the form of granules that are a hundred-thousand times finer than a sheet of paper.
2. Nano liquid urea was launched in June 2021 by the Indian Farmers and Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO).
3. It was developed as a nanotechnology-based process to produce urea molecules in liquid form.
4. It was claimed by IFFCO that a 500ml spray bottle of nano urea can substitute a full 45 kg bag of the conventional fertilizer.
5. According to the Union Chemical and Fertilizer Minister, India is aiming to manufacture 44 crore bottles of Nano Urea annually by the year 2025.

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