Tripathi S C, Kumar Nitesh, Venkatesh Karnam
ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, P.B. No. 158, Agarsain Marg, Karnal, Karnal, 132 001, Haryana, India.
ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, 500 030, Telangana, India.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 28;15(1):3598. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-83616-9.
The gradual increase in the consumption of mineral nitrogen is leading to heightened levels of harmful air pollutants, particularly NO emissions from the agriculture sector. A potential solution to address the issues arising from the excessive use of urea in wheat is the substitution of conventional urea with nano urea. This study aimed to quantify the effects of nano urea, both independently and in conjunction with prilled urea, under various agroclimatic and sowing conditions in India. To achieve this objective, a multi-location field experiment on nano and prilled urea was conducted under irrigated conditions across 21 locations with 13 different treatments during the agricultural seasons of 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. The experiments followed a randomized block design with three replications, covering diverse agro-climatic regions of India. Analysis of combined data from multiple years and locations revealed that applying the recommended dose of nitrogen (RDN), i.e., 150 kg/ha in NWPZ (North western plains zone) and NEPZ (North eastern plains zone), and 120 kg/ha in CZ (Central zone) and PZ (Peninsular zone), along with two sprays of nano urea, resulted in a significant increase in grain yield 7.6%, 8.0%, 5.5%, and 9.1% in NWPZ, NEPZ, CZ, and PZ, respectively, compared to RDN alone. Notably, using 75% RDN along with either two sprays of nano urea or 5% urea showed a non-significant (P ≥ 0.05) difference in grain yield compared to the full RDN. From the perspective of higher net benefits, the combination of RDN and two sprays of 5% urea emerged as the most favourable option. On the other hand, considering the higher marginal rate of return (MRR), the combination of 75% RDN and two sprays of 5% urea proved to be more advantageous for farmers across the zones. In conclusion, environmentally friendly practices such as two sprays of nano urea or 5% urea combined with 75% RDN present promising alternatives for Indian farmers seeking to enhance wheat grain yield. Thus, this practice can save 25% of nitrogen (1.02 billion kg) which can reduce 5.06 billion kg CO equivalent emissions annually over recommended practice and can play a significant role in achieving the goal of net zero emissions by 2070 in India.
矿物氮消费量的逐渐增加导致有害空气污染物水平升高，尤其是农业部门的氮氧化物排放。解决小麦过量使用尿素所产生问题的一个潜在解决方案是用纳米尿素替代传统尿素。本研究旨在量化纳米尿素单独使用以及与颗粒尿素联合使用时，在印度各种农业气候和播种条件下的效果。为实现这一目标，在2021 - 2022年和2022 - 2023年农业季节，在灌溉条件下于21个地点进行了关于纳米尿素和颗粒尿素的多点田间试验，设置了13种不同处理。试验采用随机区组设计，重复三次，覆盖了印度不同的农业气候区域。对多年和多地的综合数据进行分析后发现，在西北平原区（NWPZ）和东北平原区（NEPZ）施用推荐剂量的氮（RDN），即150千克/公顷，在中部区（CZ）和半岛区（PZ）施用120千克/公顷，并进行两次纳米尿素喷施，与仅施用RDN相比，NWPZ、NEPZ、CZ和PZ的谷物产量分别显著提高了7.6%、8.0%、5.5%和9.1%。值得注意的是，使用75%的RDN并配合两次纳米尿素喷施或5%的尿素，与全量RDN相比，谷物产量差异不显著（P≥0.05）。从更高净收益的角度来看，RDN与两次5%尿素喷施的组合是最有利的选择。另一方面，考虑到更高的边际回报率（MRR），75%的RDN与两次5%尿素喷施的组合对各区域的农民更为有利。总之对于寻求提高小麦产量的印度农民来说，两次纳米尿素喷施或5%尿素与75%RDN结合等环保做法是很有前景的替代方案。因此，这种做法可以节省25%的氮（10.2亿千克），与推荐做法相比，每年可减少50.6亿千克的二氧化碳当量排放，并且在印度到2070年实现净零排放目标方面可以发挥重要作用。
