Short Notes on Customized Fertilizer

This article provides a short note on customized fertilizer.

Customized fertilizer [Manufacture basically involves mixing and crushing of urea, DAP, MOP, ZnS, bentonite sulphur and boron granules for obtaining the desired proportion of N, P, K, S and micro-nutrients. The mixture is subjected to steam injection, drying, sieving and cooling, so as to get a uniform product with every grain having the same nutrient composition.

Crop and region-specific fertilizers will be a reality by 2014. After having successfully tested the concept in 25 districts of UP, Tata Chemicals is planning to make a foray into West Bengal, Punjab and Haryana in the near future.

The customization is done after conducting scientific research to find nutrients missing in a particular soil for growing specific crops. “Presently, such fertilizers are in use for wheat, paddy, sugarcane, menthe and potato.

Every year, the fertilizer grade is changed depending upon the condition of soil at that point of time. The cost of customized fertilizers is the same to that of normal fertilizers. The technology has been launched in India for the first time. Developed on the basis of soil, crop and water sample analysis, they help correct nutrient imbalance in the soil caused by prolonged inadequate and indiscriminate use of fertilizers.

Fertilizer is an essential key input for production and productivity of crops. Fertilizer alone contributes towards 55% of additional food production. Since there is no scope for extending the cultivable area, more productivity per unit area is the only option and fertilizer is the main cart puller.

Custom mixed fertilizer is a mixed fertilizer formulated according to individual specifications furnished by the consumer before mixing.

Some land needs much higher quantities of balanced fertilizer mixtures in granulated form, for soil application; water soluble form for drip irrigation, mini sprinkler and foliar spray systems.

Customized fertilizer may also be defined as multi-nutrient carrier which contains macro and/or micro- nutrient, whose sources are from inorganic or organic, which are manufactured through systemic process of granulation and satisfies crop’s nutritional demand, specific to area, soil and growth stage of plant.

Customized fertilizers are enriched with both macro- and micro- nutrients and are manufactured through a systemic process of granulation with stringent quality checks.

The objective behind the customized fertilizer is to provide site specific nutrient management for achieving maximum fertilizer use efficiency for the applied nutrient in a cost effective manner. The customized fertilizer may be combination of nutrients, secondary nutrients and micro-nutrients.

The sharp rise in fertilizer prices emphasizes the need for more research to improve the efficiency of fertilizer use. Corporate social obligation to continue to help farmers in India, get higher yields with less fertilizer i.e. by Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) as a tool to improve the efficiency of fertilizer for increased profitability of small holder farmers of India.

The benefits of customized fertilizer are as follows:

i. Customized fertilizers is use of the Fertilizers Best Management Practices and are generally assumed to maximize crop yields while minimizing unwanted impacts on the environment and human health.

ii. Fertilizer Best Management Practices will make it “easier” in “future” for farmers, extension agents, crop advisers and researchers to exchange their experiences and also to restrict the unwanted nutrient impact on the ecosystem.

iii. Application of customized fertilizer is compatible with existing farmers system and hence it will be comfortably accepted by the farmers.

iv. Production of customized fertilizers will unsure improved ‘Fertilizer Use Efficiency’ and creating a new “Virtual” source of nutrients—implying from the existing quantity of DAP, MOP, Urea, SSP and A.S available and consumed in India, the agricultural produce output will increase, simultaneously the distribution and availability of fertilizer will be better. All this is achievable keeping the subsidy allocation constant.

v. Customized fertilizer satisfies crop’s nutritional demand, specific to area, soil, and growth stage of plant.

vi. As the micro-nutrients are also added with the granulated NPK fertilizer the plants can absorb the micro-nutrient along with macro-nutrient which prevents nutrient deficiency in plant.

vii. Mixed fertilizers with micronutrients provide recommended micronutrient rates for the agricultural field at the usual fertilizer application.

viii. The farmer need not buy micro-nutrient separately at extra cost, thus reducing the total cost. It is found that incorporation of micro-nutrient with granular fertilizer at the time of manufacturing results in uniform distribution of micro-nutrient throughout granular NPK fertilizer. This is because micro-nutrient source is in contact with the mixed fertilizer under the condition of high moisture and temperature.

Micro-nutrient with the mixed fertilizer is one of the most convenient methods of fertilizer application and helps in more uniform distribution of nutrient with conventional application equipment’s. It is a very unique method developed in agriculture industry and has tremendous crop for future.