Bengaluru: Disadvantages of Chemical Fertilizers Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) and Urea in Karnataka have strengthened demand for complex.
Complex fertilizers consist of two or more nutritional components, especially NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), and in some cases a small number of sulfur, magnesium and trace elements such as boron can be added.
Dap and urea are the most popular fertilizers among farmers in the state, even though they endanger soil fertility in the long run.
According to the Department of Agriculture data, there has been a 30% increase in the use of complex fertilizers compared to the previous year.
While in 2019-20, Karnataka saw nearly 7.6 lakh metric tons of complex fertilizers used, the number rose to more than 10 lakh metric tons at 2020-21.
On September 2021, it had touched more than 11 lakh Mt.
Karnataka uses 152 kilograms of chemical fertilizer per hectare, while the neighboring crater uses almost 36 kilos.
“The use of complex fertilizers has crossed a third of our fiscal demand in just one month of this year, shows that more and more farmers shift towards them,” said Agricultural Commissioner Brijesh Kumar Dikshit.
Data department shows Raichur Regency using the highest number of complex fertilizers (nearly 1.2 lakh MT) followed by Ballari (more than 1 lakh MT) and Davangere (88,290 MT).
The lowest use was in Udupi (3,209 MT) and Bengaluru Urban (5,319 MT).
Request for the efficient version of urea – nano urea – has also grown.
According to the Director of Joint Department of Agriculture Venkatarmaneddy Patil, from a bottle of 5.1 lakh nano urea available, 3.7 lakh sold.
“The use of urea nano has also increased rapidly in Koppal Regency, Raichur and Ballari which is drier than nearly 40,000 bottles sold,” he said.
A bottle of 500ml nano urea is equivalent to 45 kilos or one urea bag.
“Another use of the Urea nano is in terms of subsidy savings by the government, which gives around Rs 450 to Rs 500 per urea bag.
A bottle of urea nano will be less than half the tariff,” said an agricultural department official.
Earlier last year, the lack of DAP and Urea had caused problems for farmers, who haid the center and the failure of the state government to provide the necessary bags.
Covid situation plays chaos with supply and farmers forced to switch to more local fertilizers that are said to be a high balanced element needed for Indian land.
There are 17 different complex fertilizer combinations in the market, and farmers can adjust their requirements according to land and plant needs.