Different Nitrogen Levels with Nano and Prilled Urea Spray on Productivity and Profitability of Maize (Zea mays L.) in alfisols of Jharkhand

A ground-breaking and enduring way to significantly reduce the use of conventional nitrogen fertilizer is to use nano-urea as a nitrogen supplement. The combination of nano and prilled urea was investigated in this study to address this issue and allowing for a 25% reduction in the recommended urea dosage. Research on rainfed maize during kharif season was conducted at ICAR-IARI Jharkhand. Twelve different combinations of conventional prilled urea, nano and prilled urea spray were investigated in the study. In the fields, the experiment used a randomized block design. Different treatments included applying prilled urea as a 2% solution in 150 liters of water per hectare and nano-urea at a rate of 1250 ml/acre applied twice through foliar application. Results showed that applying two additional applications of nano-urea along with 75% of the recommended dose of prilled-urea was the most successful fertilization strategy. This performed statistically equal with both the 100% recommended dose and the 100% recommended dose with two prilled urea spray applications in terms of yield, and cost-to-benefit ratio. The study's findings show that nano-urea can safely replace at least 25% of the dosage of prilled urea i.e. recommended, providing a more profitable and environmentally friendly method of cultivation.