ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Climate-Smart Food Systems
This article is part of the Research TopicInnovative Approaches to Sustainability: Challenges and SolutionsView all 3 articles
Nano-urea driven improvements in nitrogen efficiency and wheat productivity: Trade-offs, synergies, and climate resilience pathways
Provisionally accepted
RK Singh1
Pravin Kumar Upadhyay1
M Hasanain1
Kapila Shekhawat1
Sanjay Singh Rathore1
Vijay Singh Meena2,3*
Vinod Kumar Singh1
Archana Singh1A Patel1T Dass1
Meenakshi Rangot1P Sonnad1- 1ICAR - Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India
- 2Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, India
- 3ICAR - Mahatma Gandhi Integrated Farming Research Institute, Motihari, India
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Efficient nitrogen (N) management remains a major challenge in wheat production, where N use efficiency (NUE) low contributes to reduced yields and environmental degradation. Although nano-urea has emerged as a promising alternative to conventional urea, its optimal dose and integration with basal N applications under field conditions remain insufficiently explored. This study evaluated eight N management strategies combining basal N levels with foliar applications of NPPL liquid nano-urea, NPPL powdered nano-urea, and IFFCO nano-urea in a randomized block design [(N0PK + 2 ml NPPL nano urea, N0PK + 4 ml NPPL nano urea, N50PK + 2 ml L-1 NPPL nano urea, N50PK + 4 ml L-1 NPPL nano urea, N0PK + 0.625 g L-1 NPPL powered nano urea, N50PK + 0.625 g L-1 NPPL powered nano urea, N75PK + 4 ml L-1 IFFCO nano urea and 100% Recommended Dose of Fertilizer (RDF), i.e. 150-60-50 kg N-P2O5-K2O/ha)]. Results showed that N50PK + 4 ml L-1 NPPL liquid nano-urea achieved wheat yields and profitability comparable to N75PK + 4 ml L-1 IFFCO nano-urea, though both remained lower than the RDF. Biochemical assessments indicated that N50PK + 4 ml L-1 NPPL liquid nano-urea enhanced grain quality and improved NUE more effectively than other treatments, whereas RDF produced superior morphological and physiological traits leading to maximum yield. These findings suggest that while nano-urea can enhance NUE and reduce potential N losses, achieving yields equivalent to RDF may require optimized basal N levels. Overall, the study provides new insights into dose optimization and the complementary role of nano-urea in sustainable nitrogen management for wheat production in the Indo-Gangetic Plains.
Keywords: Biochemical properties, IFFCO nano-urea, NPPL nano-urea, RDF, wheat
Received: 21 Jul 2025; Accepted: 12 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Singh, Upadhyay, Hasanain, Shekhawat, Rathore, Meena, Singh, Singh, Patel, Dass, Rangot and Sonnad. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Vijay Singh Meena
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