Liquid Nano Urea (LNU)

Why in news?

• Recently, Prime Minister inaugurated the first Liquid Nano Urea (LNU) plant at Kalol, Gujarat.

About Liquid Nano Urea (LNU):

• It is urea in the form of a nanoparticle. It is a nutrient (liquid) to provide nitrogen to plants as an alternative to the conventional urea.
  • Urea is a chemical nitrogen fertiliser, white in colour, which artificially provides nitrogen, a major nutrient required by plants.
  • India is dependent on imports to meet its urea requirements.
• It is developed to replace conventional urea and it can curtail the requirement of the same by at least 50%.
• It contains 40,000 mg/L of nitrogen in a 500 ml bottle which is equivalent to the impact of nitrogen nutrient provided by one bag of conventional urea.
• It has been indigenously developed at Nano Biotechnology Research Centre, Kalol, Gujrat in line with Atmanirbhar Bharat and Atmanirbhar Krishi.

Significance:

• It is aimed at reducing the unbalanced and indiscriminate use of conventional urea, increase crop productivity, and reduce soil, water, and air pollution.
• Improves plant nutrition:
  • It has been found effective and efficient for plant nutrition which increases production with improved nutritional quality.
  • It will boost a balanced nutrition program by reducing the excess use of Urea application in the soil and will make the crops stronger, healthier and protect them from the lodging effect.
  • Lodging is the bending over of the stems near ground level of grain crops, which makes them very difficult to harvest, and can dramatically reduce yield.
• Improves environment:
  • It will also have a huge positive impact on the quality of underground water, a very significant reduction in global warming with an impact on climate change and sustainable development.
• Increase farmers’ income:
  • It is easy on the pocket of farmers and will be effective in increasing farmers' income.
  • It will also significantly bring down the cost of logistics and warehousing.

LNU v/s Conventional Urea:

• Higher Efficiency:
  • While conventional urea has an efficiency of about 25 %, the efficiency of liquid nano urea can be as high as 85-90 %.
  • Conventional urea fails to have the desired impact on crops as it is often applied incorrectly, and the nitrogen in it is vaporised or lost as gas. A lot of nitrogen is also washed away during irrigation.
• Targeted Supply of Nutrients to Crops:
  • 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.
• Economical:
  • A bottle of the nano urea can effectively replace at least one bag of urea.
  • The liquid nano urea 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 subsidized urea.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding ‘Liquid Nano Urea (LNU)’:

1. Liquid Nano Urea has higher efficiency than convention urea

2. It has been indigenously developed at Nano Biotechnology Research Centre, Kalol, Gujrat

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer