IFFCO BEGINS PRODUCTION OF NANO UREA LIQUID

New Delhi, June 6: Fertiliser cooperative Iffco on Sunday said it has started commercial production of nano urea liquid and send the first consignment to Uttar Pradesh for use in farming.

The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (Iffco) has priced the nano urea liquid at Rs 240 per bottle, which is 10 per cent cheaper than the cost of a bag of conventional urea.

It is a patented technology Iffco developed at its Nano Biotechnology Research Centre in Gujarat.

"Iffco Nano Urea is a product of the 21st century and it is the need of hour to keep the environment soil, air and water, safe for future generations," Iffco vice chairman Dilip Shangani said on the occasion of the World Environment Day.

According to Iffco, the process of construction of nano urea plants at Kalol in Gujarat and Aonla and Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh has already been initiated.

In phase-I, the annual production capacity of

14 crore bottles is being installed, which would be ramped to additional

18 crore bottles in phase-II by the year

2023.

These 32 crore bottles are expected to potentially replace 1.37 crore tonnes of urea by the year 2023, Iffco said.

It may be noted that urea forms 82 per cent of the total nitrogenous fertilisers consumed in India. Around 30-50 per cent of nitrogen from urea is utilised by plants and the rest gets wasted.

Due to its ultra-small size and surface properties, nano urea gets absorbed by the plants when sprayed on their leaves. Upon penetration, these nanoparticles reach plant parts where nitrogen is required and release nutrients in a controlled manner.