Nano fertilizers and its effect on nutrient use efficiency in rice

Abstract

Rice is the most important agricultural crop which sustains more than 60% of the world's population as a dietary staple. Nano urea produced and patented by Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited [IFFCO] is developed to replace conventional urea and it can curtail the requirement by at least 50 percent and it will increase the nutrient use efficiency (NUE) by 80-90 percent. The main aim of the experiment was to assess the effect of nano fertilizers on the growth and yield of rice. The eight treatment combinations were T1- Nano urea (foliar) at active tillering & panicle initiation, T2 - Urea spray at active tillering & panicle initiation, T3 - Nano Urea followed by nano K (foliar) at active tillering & panicle initiation, T4- Nano K (foliar) at active tillering & panicle initiation, T5- Nano NPK (foliar) at active tillering & panicle initiation, T6 - 19:19:19 spray at active tillering & panicle initiation, T7- 90:45:45 kg N, P2O5 & K2O (KAU POP) and T8- Absolute control. The results showed that the application of nano urea @ 4ml/L as foliar topdressing at active tillering & panicle initiation recorded statistically similar results as that of 90:45:45 kg N, P2O5 & K2O (KAU POP) in terms of growth, yield and nutrient use efficiency in rice.