India develops world's first nano liquid urea: Know more about it

The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) has developed the world’s first nano urea liquid formulation at its Nano Biotechnology Research Centre (NBRC) in Kalok, Gujarat. According to IFFCO, this new urea variety is environment-friendly and helps in boosting productivity as well as farmers’ income.

New Delhi:Leading fertiliser cooperative major Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) has started delivering nanotechnology-based liquid urea to farmers. According to the IFFCO, this new urea variety was developed at its research centre in Gujarat through in-house technology for the first time in the world.

“IFFCO developed nanotechnology-based nitrogenous fertilizer Nano Urea (Liquid formulation) to address the imbalanced and excessive use of conventional Urea. This Nano fertilizer has been developed, for the first time in the world, at IFFCO - Nano Biotechnology Research Centre (NBRC), Kalol, Gujarat through a proprietary patented technology,” the IFFCO said in a statement on Saturday.

Nano Urea (Liquid) is a source of nitrogen which is a major essential nutrient required for the proper growth and development of a plant. This fertiliser is applied on leaves as against in soil in the case of conventional Urea. According to IFFCO, the new urea variety results in increased productivity and, in turn, farmers’ incomes. “The application of Nano Urea (Liquid) at critical crop growth stages of a plant effectively fulfils its nitrogen requirement and leads to higher crop productivity and quality in comparison to conventional urea,” said the statement.

The IFFCO is making Nano Urea (Liquid) available to farmers at a lower price than a bag of subsidised Urea. Notably, it is also easy to transport this area as it comes in a liquid form unlike the regular urea which is packaged in 45-50 kg bags. “Transportation and storage would be easier and economical, as one 500 ml bottle would be equivalent to one bag of regular urea fertiliser,” added the statement.

How is Nano Urea (Liquid) different from conventional urea?

The IFFCO in its statement said that compared to conventional fertilisers, nano urea is environment friendly. “A large portion of bulk conventional fertilizers like urea is lost to the atmosphere or surface water bodies, thereby polluting the ecosystem,” said the statement. The statement further said that since nano urea contains nanoscale nitrogen particles, it is more effective than conventional urea.

“In comparison to urea the uptake efficiency of Nano Urea is more than 80 per cent. It is thus, required in lesser measure compared to the conventional urea fertiliser to fulfil plant’s nitrogen requirement,” added the statement.