Neem-coated urea

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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]

References

  1. 1 2 Ramappa, K. B.; Jadhav, Vilas; Manjunatha, A. V. (31 May 2022). "A benchmark study on economic impact of Neem Coated Urea on Indian agriculture". Scientific Reports. 12 (9082).
  2. "Important Government Schemes & Programmes in Agriculture". krishijagran.com. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  3. Shekhar, Kumar Shakti (May 24, 2019). "10 development-oriented initiatives that fetched votes for Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha elections 2019". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  4. Datta, Kanika (2016-02-16). "Neem-coated truth: Urea policy isn't a game-changer". Business Standard India. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  5. "Strategy in place to double farmers' income by 2022, says FM Sitharaman". www.businesstoday.in. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  6. "Micky Prashant Puri Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications". Justia Patents Search. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 Ashraf, Muhammad Nadeem; Rauf, Ashar (25 July 2025). "Coated Fertilizers Enhanced Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Reducing Ammonia Volatilization While Increasing Crop Yield". Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science. 2025 (0): 1–10.
  8. 1 2 Yuan, Shengnan; Cheng, Long; Tan, Zhongxin (May 2022). "Characteristics and preparation of oil-coated fertilizers: A review". Journal of Controlled Release. 345 (May 2022): 675–684.