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Nano urea
Despite being expedited for commercial use, nano-urea has not yet been thoroughly evaluated. The approval of nano-urea was gained in February 2021.
The Indian Farmers and Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) has created nano-urea as a cure to lessen farmers' reliance on packaged urea, and the government is promoting it as such.
Today, a prominent national newspaper published an article claiming that nano urea has been fast-tracked for clearance despite incomplete testing.
Normally, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) requires three seasons of independent evaluation before licencing a new fertiliser, however with nano urea, this requirement was reduced to two.
The Central Fertiliser Committee (Ministry of Agriculture) chooses whether or not to approve a chemical fertiliser for commercial usage in India based on a report submitted by ICAR.
The Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers underlined that the established and current procedure for registering any fertiliser in compliance with the Fertiliser Control Order (FCO), 1985 has been accounted for in its entirety.
Nano Urea has been provisionally recognised under FCO, which only requires data from two seasons, whereas research and farmer field experiments have been ongoing for more than four seasons.
Nano urea is a liquid containing nanoparticles of urea (an inorganic molecule), which is the most important chemical fertiliser for Indian farmers.
Plants require nitrogen to build protein, and they obtain nearly all of it from root-dwelling soil bacteria.
These bacteria convert atmospheric nitrogen or nitrogen extracted from compounds such as urea into a form that plants can utilise.
With a high nitrogen content, traditional granular urea is currently one of the most significant nitrogenous fertilisers in the country (46 percent ).
This new product is anticipated to supplant urea granules.
It was created in Kalol, Gujarat, at the Nano Biotechnology Research Centre (NBRC) of IFFCO.
IFFCO is a multinational cooperative organisation (based in New Delhi).
The society is involved in the production and distribution of fertiliser.
Reduced usage, lower cost, and higher productivity:
According to field tests, a 45 kg bag of urea granules (which costs around 3,000 but is provided to the farmer for 242) can be replaced by a single half-liter bottle of the liquid (which costs about Rs 240 and is good for an acre of crop).
The price of logistics and warehousing will also drastically decrease as a result of the new product.
Nano urea liquid promises to raise agricultural production and productivity in addition to greatly increasing farmers' revenue by cutting input and storage expenses.
In productivity and efficacy experiments, it has been demonstrated to increase agricultural yield by an average of 8% while also improving farm produce quality by providing more nutrients to crops.
Better crop nutrient efficiency, less environmental harm:
Nano urea liquid also promises to provide a long-term solution for plant nutrition by reducing soil, water, and air pollution while raising crop nutrient efficiency.
In farms, only 30 to 50 percent of urea nitrogen is used by plants; the remaining leaches out and contaminates the soil and water.
The efficiency of the nano urea liquid is greater than 80%.
The development of ultra-small particles with higher surface-to-mass ratios made possible by nanotechnology aids in the controlled delivery of plant nutrients.
Reduce import bill:
According to the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, India would be self-sufficient in the manufacturing of urea by 2025 thanks to domestic urea production (conventional Plus nano-urea).
This indicates that India would no longer need to import the 90 lakh tonnes it currently does each year, saving the nation close to 40,000 crores.
The claim of IFFCO is unfounded:
Since urea is very water soluble, when it is absorbed, the concentration is already at its lowest point.
It is unclear how even smaller nanoparticles could increase nitrogen uptake efficiency.
Furthermore, it's yet unclear to experts if the product can reduce farmers' reliance on urea on its own.
Conventional urea can’t be omitted:
According to accepted practise, at least two 45-kg sacks of urea are used when sowing crops like wheat, rice, and mustard.
The first is used when the crop is first being sown or transplanted.
When the plant has developed a canopy of leaves, the second stage treatment is carried out.
This means that standard packaged urea is still necessary as basal nitrogen throughout the early stages of crop development.
Once the plant has reached maturity and can be sprayed with nano urea on its leaves, it might be useful.
The results showed that basal nitrogen could not be substituted, but 50% of the top-dressed urea (second stage treatment) could.
Source: The Hindu