Liquid Nano Urea

In News 

• Recently, the Prime Minister of India inaugurated the country’s first liquid nano urea plant at Kalol. 

What is Liquid Nano Urea?

• It is essentially urea in the form of a nanoparticle.
  • Urea is a chemical nitrogen fertiliser, white in colour, which artificially provides nitrogen, a major nutrient required by plants.

• The product has been developed at IFFCO’s Nano Biotechnology Research Centre (NBRC) at Kalol. 
• It has a shelf life of a year, and farmers need not be worried about “caking” when it comes in contact with moisture.
• It contains 4 percent total nitrogen (w/v) evenly dispersed in water. 
  • The size of a nano nitrogen particle varies from 20-50 nm. (A nanometre is equal to a billionth of a metre.)
• It comes in a half-litre bottle priced at Rs 240, and carries no burden of subsidy currently. 
  • By contrast, a farmer pays around Rs 300 for a 50-kg bag of heavily subsidised urea.

• Efficiency 
  • The conventional urea has an efficiency of about 25 per cent, the efficiency of liquid nano urea can be as high as 85-90 per cent.

• Liquid nano urea is sprayed directly on the leaves and gets absorbed by the plant. 
  • Fertilisers in nano form provide a targeted supply of nutrients to crops, as they are absorbed by the stomata, pores found on the epidermis of leaves. 

• Other Benefits linked to it 
  • It will reduce the country’s subsidy bill and it is aimed at reducing the unbalanced and indiscriminate use of conventional urea, increase crop productivity, and reduce soil, water, and air pollution.

Source:IE