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IFFCO nano urea: an option towards efficient nitrogen management

Urea, India's most famous nitrogenous fertilizer (shares 80% of total N fertilizer consumption), contains about 46% nitrogen.

Urea, India's most famous nitrogenous fertilizer (shares 80% of total N fertilizer consumption), contains about 46% nitrogen. After its application in soil, the prilled urea is subjected to various losses, resulting in a nitrogen use efficiency of only 30-50%.

The recently developed IFFCO nano urea could be a viable alternative to prilled urea for higher nitrogen use efficiency. Nano urea has a very small particle size of about 20-50 nm (as against 1-2 mm size of prilled urea) and more surface area (10,000 times more as compared to prilled urea) and a high number of particles (55,000 nitrogen particles over 1 mm urea prill). Spraying of nano urea on plant leaves facilitates the easy absorption of urea particles through stomata, resulting in more than 80% of the total applied nitrogen available to the plant.

The simple answer is NO. Nano urea is effective when it is sprayed on the plant leaves. It should not be sprayed on the soil. Therefore, prilled urea or other nitrogen fertilizers should be applied to the soil as a basal dose when there is no plant stand in the field.

The nano urea contains about 4% nitrogen. As per recommendation, 1 bottle (500 ml) of nano urea is sufficient to replace 1 bag of urea (45 kg). The recommended dose of nano urea for the foliar spray is 2-4 ml per liter of water. About 125 liters of water is needed to spray the fertilizer on one acre. Therefore, 500 ml (4 ml per liter * 125 liter water) of nano urea is required to spray 1 acre cropped area.

For example, the recommended dose of nitrogen for the rice crop is 40 kg N/acre (100 kg N/ha). The fertilizer schedule is 50% basal (20 kg N/acre) and 50% top-dressing (20 kg N/acre).
For 20 kg N basal dose, the required dose of urea is 43.5 kg/acre (20*100/46), equivalent to one urea bag (45 kg).
For foliar spray, another bag of prilled urea is needed, which can be replaced by 1 bottle (500 ml) of nano urea.

The price of 1 bottle (500 ml) nano urea is about Rs. 240. Although the price is not very cheap than the subsidized prilled urea price (about Rs. 242 per bag), it has the potential to reduce the government's subsidy burden as it is cheaper than the non-subsidized urea.
More ever, nano urea is not a complete replacement for prilled urea. The replacement of prilled urea during top dressing will reduce the subsidy burden at the policy level and increase nitrogen use efficiency.at farm level.

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