Liquid Nano Urea

A fertilizer is an organic or inorganic substance, natural or artificial that supplies one or more of the required nutrients for plant growth. Fertilizers provide Eight macronutrients and six micronutrients.

• Macronutrients includes Nitrogen(N) , Phosphorus (P),Potassium (K), Calcium(Ca), Magnesium(Mg), Sulphur(S).
• Micro nutrients includes Boron(B), Chlorine(cl), Copper(cu), Iron (Fe), Zinc(Zn) etc.

Types of Fertilizers:

• Phosphate Type- super phosphate and triple phosphate.
• Potassium Type- Potassium nitrate
• Nitrogenous Type- Urea, Ammonium nitrate, Ammonium sulfate.

Urea:

It is low-cost nitrogen fertilizer because of its high nitrogen composition and low transport and storage cost.  Urea gets converted into ammonium bicarbonate within 48 hours after field application. Nitrogen works as wonder when urea gets into the soil and not merely remains on the surface of the soil.  It is done by irrigating, plowing soon, or banding and injecting urea directly into the soil.

Urea is the most extensively used chemical nitrogen fertilizer and is the primary raw ingredient in NPK (Nitrogen(N), Phosphorus(P), and Potassium(K)) fertilizers. But it has some side effects:

• It can only use after 4-5 days of transformation at room temperature. 
• The real utilization rate is around 30 %.
• Damage caused in too much area and should not be used in excess to avoid waste and fertilizer damage.
• Urea also involves the discharge of numerous toxic chemicals into the atmosphere.
• Urea is volatile when they are not kept properly without monitoring.

To deal with the above-mentioned urea side effects LIQUID NANO UREA is introduced. The Prime minister inaugurated the first Liquid Nano urea plant in Gujarat in June 2022. It Is indigenous urea introduced by Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited.

Indian Farmers Fertilizers Cooperative Limited:

It is India’s biggest cooperative founded in 1967. It has the purpose to enable Indian farmers to timely, reliable, trustworthy supply of agricultural inputs. It takes care of sustainable environmental supply.

Liquid Nano Urea Fertilizer:

Urea in the form of nanoparticles. It is a nutrient to provide nitrogen to plants as an alternative to urea. It is developed to replace conventional urea and curtains the requirement of the same by 50 %. It is developed by Nano Biotechnology Research center, Kalol, Gujarat in support of Atmanirbhar Krishi under Aatmnirbhar Bharat. Liquid urea is sprayed directly on the leaves and gets absorbed by the plants.  It has a shelf life of 1 year. It does not get affected after coming in contact with moisture.

Significance of Liquid Nano Urea:

• Impact on production-  It increases production and nutritional quality.  It will focus on a balanced nutritional program by reducing the use of urea. 
• Environmental impact- It has a positive impact on the quality of underground water and reduces global warming impact. It helps in managing climate change and sustainable development. The excess conventional urea causes environmental pollution harms soil health and makes plants prone to diseases, and delays crop growth. Nano urea makes the crops healthy and protects them from lodging effects.
• Economic impact- It helps in increasing farmers’ income. It brings down the cost of logistics and warehousing. It cut down post-harvesting costs.

Importance of Liquid Nano Urea over Conventional urea:

• Efficiency- Conventional urea has an efficiency of 25 % only whereas LNU has an efficiency of 85-90%. Conventional urea doesn’t function properly if not applied properly and gets washed due to irrigation. Nitrogen gets evaporates or is lost as a gas. Loss of urea is less in liquid urea.
• LNU provides a targeted supply of nutrients and gets absorbed by plants. It reduces soil, air, and water pollution.
• A bottle of Nano urea works for one bag of urea, and it has no subsidy burden, as it costs Rs 240 but a bag of 50 kg cost Rs 300 even though it is heavily subsidized.
• Liquid urea is important for targeted supply.

Steps were Taken for Liquid Nano Urea Production:

• Establishment of Liquid Nano urea plant in 2021 by IFFCO.
• IFFCO is setting up production facilities of nano fertilizers at Aonla, Phulpur, Bengaluru, Kandla, and Deoghar.
• Plants are prepared for the production of Nano DAP and nano micronutrients other than fertilizers.

Problem Related to Nano Urea:

• Less supply and there is hesitation among farmers for its use. I
• Nano urea is sold with conventional urea which is increasing agricultural costs.
• No subsidy to Nano urea.

Conclusion: 

Urea and other fertilizers are important for the production of the crop. Fertilizers come with side effects but their use can’t be discarded. When Srilanka banned the use of fertilizers, it became the major reason for economic destruction because it badly affected the agriculture sector. Organic farming can be our future but it needs efficient planning on the grassroots level and it is time taking as well. The focus should be on agricultural production with efficient planning for changing the type of fertilizers focusing on sustainable development and environmental impacts.