Abstract:
The global food production and consumption demand are increasing with increasing population. To fulfil this, demand a large amount of arable land is required. Unfortunately, the available land is diminishing due to industrialization and urbanization. Only about 10% of the land is available for cultivation. Due to the unavailability of land, the need of the hour is to provide a heavy amount of fertilizer to the crops. These fertilizers, in turn, will pollute the environment badly.
Nitrogen (N) is a crucial and important component of animal and plant cycle. Mankind is injecting reactive nitrogen into the environment either intentionally or unintentionally. As a result, it is affecting biodiversity, water quality, and human health and causing global warming. Synchronization of N supply with the crop demand is an efficient and profitable method in terms of crop production of N management. Urea fertilizer with N content of 46 % is used for further improvement and utilization for crop production. Nitrogen in Urea, when applied to soil, is lost in volatilization, Immobilization, Denitrification and Leaching. This loss will alter the bio-diversity. The development of Slow-release / Control release Fertilizer is to reduce these losses and altering nitrogen release according to the plant metabolic needs
Encapsulation of Urea Fertilizer with the polymeric coating is one of the solutions to the above-discussed problem. It controls the release rate of fertilizer by regulating N to the plant whenever required. It will reduce the multiple application of fertilizer and will minimize environmental pollution. This method will provide environmental security by minimizing health hazards and conserving bio-diversity along N management. Urea prills were coated with polymeric material and additives that will coat the prills by providing flexibility and strength to the coating. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction XRD techniques were employed to check the bonding and cross-linking of polymer and additives. Crushing strength to check the liability of coating during handling and supply chain.
Keywords: Slow Release Urea Fertilizer (SRUF), Dissolution rate, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Starch.
