Nano urea fertilizer
Nano urea is a liquid fertilizer from the Indian cooperative IFFCO, sprayed onto crop leaves. At launch IFFCO said a half-liter bottle could replace at least one 45 kg bag of ordinary urea and halve the amount farmers need.
ICIS, 1 June 2021How far from your life: You can get it now, though it may not be common yet.
Company-reportedFrom lab to your life
Why it’s on step 4
- 1Lab discovery
- 2Working prototype
- 3Real-world testing
- 4Approved or on sale
- 5Everyday life
The rule
A regulator approved or cleared it where approval applies (the FDA, the EMA, a CE mark), or it is sold to the public or to customers beyond a trial.
- IFFCO launched nano urea, priced 10% below an equivalent bag of ordinary urea, with mass production at its Kalol plant near Ahmedabad. ICIS, 1 June 2021
The short version
What you need to know
- Why it matters
India's government said it would cut fertilizer use and subsidy costs and raise yields. Independent field trials have not borne that out so far.
Business Today, 14 Apr 2026- Is it really nano?
Partly nano
IFFCO says it is made with nanotechnology. We have not found independent measurements of its particles; the evidence we cite tests whether it works.
ICIS, 1 June 2021- Where you’ll find it
Sold to farmers in India since 2021.
ICIS, 1 June 2021- Who’s behind it
IFFCO, the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative
On the record
Every step, dated
Newest first. Company-reported means the only source so far is the company itself.
- Setback
A two-year field experiment by Punjab Agricultural University found wheat yields 21.6% lower and rice yields 13% lower with nano urea than with ordinary nitrogen fertilizer, with less protein in the grain.
Down To Earth, 3 Jan 2024 - On saleCompany-reported
IFFCO launched nano urea, priced 10% below an equivalent bag of ordinary urea, with mass production at its Kalol plant near Ahmedabad.
ICIS, 1 June 2021
In their words
What experts say
Conventional urea works best when applied to the soil, as crops evolved their root system to derive nutrition from it.
Business Today, 14 Apr 2026
Sources
Where every line comes from
Each source with the passage, word for word, that backs what we wrote.
- ICIS, 1 June 2021
A 500 millilitre (ML) bottle of the product would be able to replace at least one 45KG bag of conventional urea,
- Business Today, 14 Apr 2026
cut fertiliser use and subsidy outgo; raise yields and nutritional quality of crops;
- Down To Earth, 3 Jan 2024
There was a 21.6 per cent decrease in wheat yield and a 13 per cent decrease in rice yields