Relative performance of neem (Azadirachta indica) coated urea vis-a-vis ordinary urea applied to rice and wheat in Kapurthala

district of Punjab, India

Rajan Bhatt*, Manoj Sharma and Gurpreet Kaur Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kapurthala *rajanbhatt79@rediffmail.com Abstract: Field experiments conducted over two seasons (20062008) in a sandy loam soil evaluated two N sources (coated and uncoated urea) at two levels, namely 80% and 100% of the recommended level of 120 kg N ha1, applied in three equal doses: at transplanting, 21 days after transplanting, and 42 days after transplanting (DAT) of paddy whereas half N applied at sowing and half broadcasted at first irrigation in wheat. Both the forms increased grain yield of rice significantly, with higher yields at the higher level of N, and the coated form at the recommended level led to the maximum yield, particularly in rice. The coated form also led to marked increase in N uptake. Keywords: Neem coated urea; Rice ; Wheat; Ordinary urea; Grains

Urea is a major nitrogenous fertilizer. Of the total quantity of urea applied to crops, 50%70% is estimated to be lost, in various forms, thereby reducing the availability of nitrogen to crops. The recovery efficiency of N fertilizer in rice ranges between 30% and 40% (Bijay-Singh and YadvinderSingh 2003); improving the efficiency is therefore vital not only to achieving and sustaining high crop yields but also to safeguarding the environment, considering the potentially harmful effects of the leached N. Slow-release N-fertilizer is one of the means to achieve this end. In rice, sulphur-coated urea outperformed ordinary urea in almost all types of soils (Meelu et al. 1983; Bijay-Singh and Katyal 1987). Blending urea with neem cake has been a traditional practice in India, and neem products, when applied along with urea, have been shown to enhance nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in rice (Agarwal et al. 1980; Singh and Singh 1986). Oil derived from neem seed contains melicians (generally known as neem bitters), of which epinimbin, deacetyl, salanin, and azadirachtin show dose-dependent inhibition of nitrification (Devakumar and Goswami 1992). Although it had been established long ago that neem products, when applied along with urea, can enhance NUE in crops (Singh and Singh 1986), the practice did not find large-scale application because a process to coat urea with neem products on a large scale was not available. The Indian Agricultural Research Institute perfected the technique of coating urea using neem oil emulsion at 0.51.0 kg neem oil per tonne of urea (Suri et al. 2004). The technique is used at the factory level, and the product meets the specifications stipulated in the fertilizer control order. The use of neem-coated urea (NCU), produced by spraying neem (Azadirachta indica L. Juss.) oil emulsion on prilled urea at the final stage of production, can result in high NUE in rice because neem oil can inhibit nitrification. Coating of urea prills with neem oil in this way is very economical as it costs only about INR 100, or about $2, per tonne of urea. The National Fertilizer Ltd adopted this technology at its plant in Panipat, Haryana, in India and neem-coated urea is now a commercial product. The oil forms a fine coating and protects the loss of nitrogen due to denitrification, ensuring

regulated and continuous availability of nitrogen over a long period, as required by crops. The present investigations were undertaken to evaluate the relative performance of coated and uncoated urea in the field for rice and wheat in different villages in Kapurthala district of the north Indian state of Punjab.

MATERIALS AND METHODS Site characteristics: Field experiments were conducted at 18 sites for 2006-2008 in both the crops viz. wheat and paddy. Kapurthala (A formerly princely state) is one of the smallest districts of Punjab and is located at 31o36 North and 75o37 East at an attitude of 221 meters. The district is divided into two noncontinuous parts viz. Phagwara block in one part and the remaining four blocks in the other part. The agro-climatic conditions of the district Kapurthala coincide with the Central Punjab with smooth-plain topography. The climate of the experimental site is sub-tropical, semi-arid with an annual rainfall of 733 mm, of which about 80% is received during June to September when wetland transplanted rice is grown. Treatments: NCU and ordinary urea were tested at two N levels i.e. 80 and 100% of the recommended level of 120 kg N ha-1 for the region. The performance of NCU vis-a`-vis ordinary urea was also studied basal dose consisting of 26 kg P, 30 kg K ha-1 and 10 kg Zn ha-1 was applied to all the plots at the time of transplanting of Paddy. The entire amount of P, K and Zn was incorporated into the top soil with the last run of cultivator, while N was top dressed in three equal splits viz. at the time of transplanting and 3 and 6 weeks after transplanting. Wheat (cv PBW 343) was seeded in 0.20 m apart rows at 100 kg ha -1 in November. The crop received 120 kg N ha-1 (through urea), 63 kg P ha-1 and 30 kg K ha-1. Half of N was applied at sowing while rest was broadcast prior to common irrigation 4 weeks after sowing. The crop was harvested in the middle of April each year. However, other crop management from preparation to harvesting was identical in all treatments and were based on recommendations from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana (Anonymous 2005). As far as rice is concerned, fields were puddled and levelled for transplanting irrespective of the variety. Four-week-old seedlings of rice were transplanted however, for wheat we also follow standard procedure for field preparation. At maturity, grain yields were recorded. After estimating moisture content, the grain yield was reported at 14% moisture content in both crops viz. Wheat and Paddy. In the present study we tried to check-out the response of two different levels of N-fertilisers viz. 80% and 100% through ordinary and Neem coated urea in wheat and paddy. In these experiments, we selected a plot of 2 acres and then divide this into the four equal plots of 4 Kanals. On two plots, we applied NCU @ 80% and 100% of the recommended level of 120 kg N ha1 and on other two we applied normal urea with the same specifications. Experiments were conducted irrespective of the cultivars. The crop was harvested by hand at ground level at maturity in the month October-November and April and grain yields were recorded from a 100 m2 area in the centre of each plot. The water table is deep and soils are fine textured. Farmers were selected randomly by the scientific staff and preference was given to educated and willing farmers who could understand the philosophy of insect control through neem oil coated urea. The experiments were conducted with the cooperation and help of farmers. In this regard, to check the response of Neem

coated urea on the ordinary urea, we carried out this study at different villages of Kapurthala district of Punjab, India. We selected the plots and then divide them into the four sub-plots. Treatments comprised of T1: Neem coated urea (80%) T2: Normal urea (80%) T3; Neem coated urea (100%) T4 : Normal urea (100%) RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Application of N through NCU or ordinary urea up to 100 % significantly increased grain yield of rice and wheat as compared to 80% application. When applied in three equal split doses at 0, 21 and 42 DAT, the NCU did not outperform. In 2006/07, wheat yield with NCU was 0.23% higher than that with ordinary urea at the lower dose; at the higher dose, the corresponding gain was 0.21% (Table 1). In 2007/08, at the lower dose of N, use of NCU resulted in the grain yield of wheat being 0.52% greater than that when ordinary urea was used; at the higher dose, the yield was greater only by 0.1% (Table 1). These results suggest that the impact of nitrification-inhibiting properties of NCU is more visible in the coarse-textured soils of Kapurthala, Punjab. Rice responded better to NCU than wheat did in 2007, at the lower dose of N, grain yield was 1.3% higher in plots supplied with NCU than in those supplied with ordinary urea; at the higher dose, the corresponding figure was 1.4% (Table 2). In 2008, the corresponding increases were 0.86% at the lower dose and 1.54% at the higher dose (Table 2). From the above it is clearly stated that the effect of neem coated urea is more prominent in paddy (Fig 2) as compared to that of the wheat (Fig 1) and it may be because of the nitrification inhibition properties of Neem coated urea. The recommended dose applied in the form of NCU led to the highest yields, the treatment being significantly better for wheat (4598 kg ha1 and 4364 kg ha1 respectively in 2007/08 and 2008/09 than 80% of the recommended dose (Fig 3), whether given in the form of ordinary urea (4185 kg ha1 and 4178 kg ha1 respectively) or in the form of NCU ( 4195 kg ha1 and 4195 kg ha1 respectively) although at the higher dose the two forms were statistically on par (4592 kg ha 1 and 4358 kg ha1 respectively) (Table 3). The pattern with paddy yield was identical, with 100% N applied as NCU performing significantly better (7305 kg ha1 and 6558 kg ha1 in 2007 and 2008 respectively) than 80% N applied either as ordinary urea (6145 kg ha1 and 5754 kg ha1 respectively) or as NCU (6230 kg ha1 and 5898 kg ha1 respectively) but being statistically on par with the treatment involving 100% N given as ordinary urea (7225 kg ha1 and 6456 kg ha1 respectively) (Fig 4). The beneficial effects of various neem products, when used in combination with ordinary urea, are well established and take the form of smaller N losses and higher yield. Singh and Singh (1986) observed a significant reduction in nitrogen being leached as NO3-N when urea was blended with neem cake. Blending neem seed cake with urea reduced volatilization of ammonia by 31.4% (Reddy and Mishra 1983). The coated form produced 5.6% higher grain yield than that produced by ordinary urea when applied in three equal split doses. These results suggest that the positive impact of the nitrification-inhibiting properties of NCU is more visible in coarse-textured soils of Kapurthala district of Punjab. Since neem inhibits nitrification, the main effect of

NCU in improving NUE in rice is probably due to the reduction in the amount of nitrogen being lost by leaching in the form of NO3-N. However, as reported by Mikkelsen and De Datta (1979) and Vlek and Craswell (1979) for coarse-textured soils, when conditions are unfavourable for nitrification, N volatilization is greaterand NCU may well have been instrumental in checking the loss of N in this form. This study shows that NCU is superior to ordinary urea in wetland rice. Commercial production of NCU requires large-scale availability of neem oil, which can be ensured only by encouraging large-scale plantation of neem trees. Growing of neem trees will also lead to increased carbon sequestration, thereby helping to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. It may be concluded from the above discussion that application of nitrogen in the form of neemcoated urea increased grain yield in rice significantly compared to that in wheat. Applying NCU at the recommended rate of 120 kg N/ha produced higher grain yield in rice compared to that obtained with ordinary urea. It may be assumed that the superiority of NCU over ordinary urea in the Kapurthala district of Punjab was accompanied by a marked increase in N uptake and nitrogen use efficiency. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Authors highly acknowledge the co-operation received by the farmers of Kapurthala district of Punjab for successfully conduction of these trials on to their fields from 2006 -- 2010. The timely help received by Dr. H.S. Thind and Dr. Sanjay Arora is also highly acknowledged. REFERENCES Agarwal S.R., Shankar, H. and Agarwal, M.M (1980) Effect of slow release nitrogen and nitrification inhibitors on rice-wheat sequence. Indian J Agron 35:337340. Anonymous (2005) Rice. In: Mahindra K (ed) Package of practices for crops of PunjabKharif crops, vol 22 (No. 1). Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, pp 118 Bijay-Singh and Katyal JC (1987) Relative efficacy of some new urea-based nitrogen fertilizers for growing wetland rice on a permeable alluvial soil. J Agril Sci Camb 109:2731 Bijay-Singh and Yadvinder-Singh (2003) Efficient nitrogen management in rice-wheat system in the Indo-Gangetic plains. In: Yadvinder-Singh, Bijay-Singh, Nayyar VK, Jagmohan-Singh (eds) Nutrient management for sustainable rice-wheat cropping system. National Agricultural Technology Project, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi and Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, pp 99114 Bijay-Singh and Yadvinder-Singh (2004) Balanced fertilization for environmental qualityPunjab experience. Fert News 49 (4): 107113 Bijay-Singh., Yadvinder-Singh., Ladha, J.K., Bronson, K.F., Balasubramanian, V., Jagdeep-Singh and Khind, C.S. (2002) Chlorophyllmeter-and leaf color chart-based nitrogen management for rice and wheat in northwestern India. Agron J 94:821829 Devakumar., C. and Goswami., B.K. (1992) Nematicidal principles from neem isolated and bioassay of some melicians. Pestic Res J 4(2):7984 Meelu., O.P., Rekhi, R.S., Brar, J.S. and Katyal., J.C. (1983) Comparative efficiency of different modified urea materials in rice. In: Proceedings of the Fertilizer Association of India

Northern Region Seminar on Fertilizer Use Efficiency. The Fertilizer Association of India, Delhi, pp 4759

New

Mikkelsen., D.S. and De Datta., S.K. (1979) Ammonia volatilization from wetland rice soils. In: International on ammonia Rice Research Institute. Nitrogen and rice, Los Banos, pp 135156 volatilization from surface applied urea. J Indian Soc Soil Sci 31:143145 Reddy., V.R.M. and Mishra., B. (1983) Effect of altered soil urease activity and temperature Singh., M. and Singh., T.A. (1986) Leaching losses of nitrogen from urea as affected by application of neem- cake. J Indian Soc Soil Sci 34 :766773 Suri., I.K, Prasad., R. and Devakumar., C. (2004) Neem coating of urea present status and future trends. Indian J Fert 49:2124 Vlek., P.L.G. and Craswell., E.T. (1979) Effect of nitrogen source and management on ammonia volatilization losses from flooded rice-soil systems. Soil Sci Soc Am J 43:352358 Yadvinder-Singh., Bijay-Singh., Ladha., J.K, Bains., J.S, Gupta., R.K, Jagmohan-Singh and Balasubramanian., V. (2007) On-farm evaluation of leaf color chart for need-based nitrogen management in irrigated transplanted rice in northwestern India. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 78:167176.

Table 1: Performance of neem coated urea vis-a-vis ordinary urea (Grain yield) in rabi seasons with 80 and 100% treatments. Sr. No Name and address of the farmer Variety DOS DOH Yield of Wheat (q/ha) 80% 80% % Neem Normal Increase Coated Urea in grain yield

100 % 100% Neem Normal coated Urea urea

% Increa se in grain yield

Rabi-2006-07 1. KVK, Farm 2. Sukhwinder Singh, Blairkhanpur 3. Surinder Singh, Barindpur 4. Darshan Singh Nawanpind Mean values Rabi-2007-08 5. Jageer Singh, Kadhal Nau Bad 6. Sukhwinder Singh ,Blerkhanpur. 7. Jasjeet Singh, Blerkhanpur. 8. Mohinder Singh, Blerkhanpur. 9. Paramjit Singh, Blerkhanpur Mean values

PBW343 PBW343 PBW343 PBW343

15/11/06 17/11/06 16/11/06 18/11/06

24/4/07 18/4/07 17/4/07 17/4/07

42.1 42.0 42.7 41.0 41.95

41.9 42.0 42.7 40.80 41.85 42.95

0.5 0.0 0.0 0.5 -0.46

46.0 45.9 47.05 45.0 46.0 45.00

45.9 45.9 47.0 44.9 45.9 45.00

0.22 0.00 0.11 0.22 --0.00

PBW343 PBW343 PBW343 PBW343 PBW343

6-11-07

22-4-08

43.15

6-11-07 10-11-07 16-11-07 3-11-07

24-4-08 26-4-08 30-4-08 21-4-08

41.25 42.75 41.60 41.00 42.0

41.00 42.65 41.30 41.00 41.78

0.60 0.23 0.73 0.00 ---

43.75 43.00 43.25 43.20 43.64

43.65 42.90 43.20 43.15 43.60

0.22 0.23 0.11 0.11 ----

Table 2: Performance of neem coated urea vis-a-vis ordinary urea (Grain yield) in Kharif seasons with 80 and 100% treatments. Sr. No Name and address of the farmer Variety DOS DOH Yield of Paddy (q/ha) 80% 80% % Neem Normal Increase Coated Urea in grain yield 100 % 100% Neem Normal coated Urea urea % Incre ase in grain yield 1.20 1.31 1.21 0.69 --1.33

Kharif 2007 1. KVK, Kapurthala farm 2. Jasjeet Singh ,Blairkhanpur 3. Surinder Singh , Barindpur 4. Jageer Singh ,Kadhal Naubad Mean values Kharif 2008 5. Sukhwinder Singh ,

PAU201 PR-113 PAU201 PR-111

08.06.07 05.07.07 06.07.07 02.07.07

24.10.07 05.11.07 06.11.07 03.11.07

66.00 58.90 65.00 59.30 62.3

65.00 58.00 64.00 58.80 61.5 62.1

1.53 1.55 1.56 0.85 --0.64

75.40 69.40 74.90 72.50 73.1 70.4

74.50 68.50 74.00 72.00 72.3 67.5

PR-116

20-6-08

2-11-08

62.5

Blerkhanpur Satnam Singh , Mohablipur 7. KVK, Kapurthala 8. Mohinder Singh , Blerkhanpur 9. Jageer Singh , Karalnaubad Mean values 6.

PR-111 PR-111 PAU201 PR-111

27-6-08 26-6-08 26-6-08 25-6-08

1-11-08 25-10-08 2-11-08 27-10-08

58.2 42.1 66.6 60.5 58.0

57.8 41.7 66.1 59.8 57.5

0.69 0.95 0.75 1.17 ---

65.6 51.0 75.5 65.4 65.6

65.5 49.9 74.9 65.0 64.6

0.15 2.20 0.80 0.61 ---

Table 3: Yields of wheat and paddy as influenced by neem coated and normal urea during 2007-08 and 2008-09. Treatment 80% Neem Coated 80% Normal Urea 100% Neem Coated 100% Normal Urea CD (p=0.05) Yield of Wheat (q/ha) 2007-2008 2008-2009 41.95 41.95 41.85 45.98 45.92 0.19 41.78 43.64 43.58 0.69 Yield of Paddy (q/ha) 2007 2008 62.30 58.98 61.45 73.05 72.25 1.56 57.54 65.58 64.56 1.78

Fig1. Effect of different urea treatments on wheat yield at farmers field

Fig 2. Effect of different urea treatments paddy yield at farmers field

Fig 3: Indicating the yield of wheat as influenced by different treatments

Fig 4: Indicating the yield of paddy as influenced by different treatments