New Delhi: The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), worlds largest fertiliser cooperative, on Sunday announced the introduction of its nanotechnology-based product range by introducing Nano Nitrogen, Nano Zinc, Nano Copper for on-field trials at an event held at its Kalol unit in Gujarat.

These products have been researched and developed indigenously at the IFFCO Nano Biotechnology Research Centre (NBRC), an advanced research and development centre based at Kalol Unit. These nanostructured formulations effectively deliver nutrients to the plants. Other benefits of these Nano-products include reduction in the requirement of conventional chemical fertilizer by 50%; upto 15-30% increase in crop production; improvement in soil health; reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases.

Speaking at the event in the introductory speech U.S. Awasthi, MD, IFFCO said," In the first phase of the launch these products will be tested on farms under controlled conditions with support from ICAR/KVK. For this phase IFFCO has introduced three types of the nano-products. The first is IFFCO NANO NITROGEN which is developed as an alternative to Urea. If used properly, this product has the potential to cut the requirement of Urea by 50%. The second is IFFCO NANO ZINC which is developed as an alternative to the currently used Zinc fertilisers. Only 10 gm of this product would be sufficient for a hectare of land and would bring the requirement of NPK fertilizer down by 50%. The third product is IFFCO NANO COPPER which provides both nutrition and protection to the plant. It boosts the plants immunity against harmful pathogens and helps increase the activity of plant growth hormone and improves overall plant growth and development."

Speaking at the event, Sadananda Gowda, Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers praised IFFCO for its efforts and said This step will certainly complement to the vision of our PM Shri Narendra Modiji for doubling the farmers income by 2022."

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IFFCO introduces Indias first nanotechnology-based products for on-field trials - Livemint