Neem-coated urea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neem-coated urea is a fertilizer, consisting of urea that is coated with neem tree seed oil.[1] It supported by an agriculture scheme of the Government of India to boost the growth of wheat and paddy,[2] and curb the black market and hoarding of urea.[3] In January 2015, the urea manufacturers were mandated by the government to increase their production from 35 percent to 75 percent of their subsidised amounts of neem-coated urea.[4] In her 2019 budget presentation, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about increased promotion of neem-coated urea among farmers which will help to reduce the cost of cultivation.[5]
Benefits of neem-coated urea include; increase of crop-specific yields by 15-30% on average along with higher levels of soil fertility.[1]
The patent (US 9 ,884,792 B2) for neem-coated urea is owned by Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd and its assignees are the Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd. & Aditya Birla Science and Technology co. ltd. under the guidance of Dr. Prashant Puri, who is the primary innovator in this area.[6]
Other coatings are also used for urea: moringa,[7] sulfur,[7] biochar,[7] other oils[8] and polymers.[8]