Nano Urea: Price, Label Dose and What the Trials Show

IFFCO's 500 ml liquid urea costs ₹225; the maker and PAU researchers disagree on whether it replaces a bag of urea.

Updated: 3 October 2026

Nano urea is IFFCO's liquid nitrogen spray, sold in a 500 ml bottle at ₹225 (IFFCO price list, effective 1 January 2025). The label dose is 2 to 4 ml per litre of water, sprayed twice on the leaves. IFFCO says it can replace up to 50% of the urea given as top dressing.

Whether it works is disputed. IFFCO's own trials and a parliamentary committee report a yield gain of about 8%, while a two-year Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) study found lower wheat and rice yields. The sources are set out below so the choice can be made with both sides in view.

What it is

Strength: nano urea (liquid) contains 4% nitrogen, with particles of 20 to 50 nanometres, according to IFFCO's product site.
Nitrogen per bottle: 500 ml x 4% = 20 g of nitrogen. A 45 kg bag of urea (46% N) holds 20.7 kg. The bottle is meant to work by being absorbed through the leaf more efficiently, not by carrying the same nitrogen.
Nano Urea Plus: the Ministry of Agriculture notified Nano Urea Plus (16% N by weight, equal to 20% N by volume) for three years in April 2024. IFFCO announced the same price of ₹225 per 500 ml, so a bottle holds about 100 g of nitrogen.

Product	Pack	MRP incl. GST	Source and date
IFFCO Nano Urea	500 ml	₹225	IFFCO price list, 1 January 2025
Urea, for comparison	45 kg bag	₹266.50	IFFCO price list, 1 January 2025
IFFCO Nano Urea, earlier price	500 ml	₹240	Parliamentary committee report, March 2023

Label dose and how to spray

Shake the bottle well.
Mix 2 to 4 ml in one litre of water. At 4 ml per litre, 500 ml makes 125 litres of spray; at 2 ml per litre it makes 250 litres.
First spray at active tillering or branching: 30 to 35 days after germination, or 20 to 25 days after transplanting.
Second spray 20 to 25 days after the first, or before flowering.
Use a flat fan or cut nozzle, in the morning or evening. If rain falls within 12 hours, the label advises spraying again.
Use within one year of the manufacturing date.

For Nano Urea Plus, a retailer listing of the label gives 250 to 500 ml per acre per spray. Two sprays at one full bottle each would cost ₹450 per acre. The nitrogen already given as basal dose is still needed; the claim is about top dressing.

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What the manufacturer and the government say

IFFCO's product site says the average yield gain was up to 8% in 11,000 field trials in 2019-20, and that nano urea can potentially replace up to 50% of top-dressed urea.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers (report of 21 March 2023) noted that field trials showed an 8% higher average yield, and that a ₹240 bottle could replace a ₹267 bag of urea.
The same report was told that the saving in top-dressed nitrogen varied between 25% and 50%. The committee asked for an audit of the trials to explain this wide range and for crop-specific spraying procedures.
Publicly available information, as reported by Down To Earth in May 2023, listed 13 crops tested at 43 on-station locations and 94 crops on farms in 21 states over four seasons.

What independent studies and critics say

PAU Ludhiana, 2020-21 and 2021-22: with half the recommended nitrogen given to the soil plus two nano urea sprays on IFFCO's protocol, wheat yield fell 21.6% and rice yield 13% against conventional nitrogen. Grain nitrogen fell 11.5% in wheat and 17% in rice, and the fall was larger in the second year. The authors said the product could not be recommended for rice and wheat and needs 5 to 7 years of evaluation.
Trial length: ICAR requires data for at least three seasons before a fertiliser is certified. IFFCO told Down To Earth it had two seasons for one crop, and the committee noted that the Department of Agricultural Research and Education had only one year of data on crop quality.
IFFCO's response: its managing director told Outlook Business in December 2025 that third-party studies are "not of much importance" to the cooperative, and that IFFCO has put ₹4 crore into a five-year ICAR-led study of nano products, estimated at ₹70 to 80 crore, with results to be public.
Uptake by farmers: the same report said sales that year stood at 1.45 crore bottles of nano urea and 65 lakh of nano DAP, far below an 8 crore target.

Both sets of results can be true at once: trial responses varied by crop, place and design. The PAU study tested a cut in soil nitrogen, so it does not say what a spray adds on top of full nitrogen. No independent peer-reviewed trial supporting the full-replacement claim is cited here.

Tank mix and drone spraying

The label says nano urea can be mixed with biostimulants, 100% water-soluble fertilisers and agrochemicals, and always advises a jar test first. IFFCO also points to a list of agrochemicals tested for compatibility.
Nano Urea Plus is described as suitable for knapsack sprayers, power sprayers or drones. The parliamentary committee noted an agricultural drone costs about ₹10 lakh, and IFFCO told Outlook Business it supports "Drone Didis" who spray with free drones.
No official drone dose, water volume per acre or flight setting is cited here, so use the label concentration and ask the drone operator or KVK for the volume.

Before relying on it for a whole field, try it on a few rows beside a strip with the usual urea top dressing and compare at harvest. For urea quantities see urea, for crop-wise nitrogen plans the fertilizer guide, and fertilizer calculator.

Sources

Fertilizer guides by product

DAP price and use MOP potash price Nano DAP NPK fertilizer grades SSP price and use Urea price and use Zinc sulphate

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What is the price of nano urea? +

IFFCO's price list effective 1 January 2025 shows Nano Urea 500 ml at ₹225 including GST. A 45 kg bag of urea is ₹266.50 on the same list. Nano Urea Plus was announced at the same ₹225 in April 2024.

How much nano urea should be mixed per litre of water? +

The label says 2 to 4 ml per litre of water, sprayed on the leaves at active growth. At 4 ml per litre a 500 ml bottle makes 125 litres of spray.

When should nano urea be sprayed? +

Twice: first at active tillering or branching (30 to 35 days after germination, or 20 to 25 days after transplanting), then 20 to 25 days later or before flowering. Spray in the morning or evening, and repeat if rain falls within 12 hours.

Does one bottle replace a 45 kg bag of urea? +

IFFCO and the parliamentary committee report it as a replacement, and IFFCO's site says up to 50% of top-dressed urea. By nitrogen content a bottle holds 20 g against about 20.7 kg in a bag. PAU's trial found yield losses when the bottle replaced half the soil nitrogen.

What did the PAU study find? +

Over 2020-21 and 2021-22, wheat yield fell 21.6% and rice yield 13% with half the soil nitrogen plus two nano urea sprays, against conventional nitrogen. The authors said it could not be recommended for rice and wheat and needs 5 to 7 years of evaluation.

What do IFFCO and the government say about its results? +

IFFCO cites an average yield gain of up to 8% in 11,000 trials in 2019-20. A parliamentary committee in March 2023 noted an 8% average gain but a 25% to 50% variation in nitrogen saving and asked for an audit of the trials.

Can nano urea be sprayed with a drone or tank mixed? +

The label allows mixing with biostimulants, water-soluble fertilisers and agrochemicals after a jar test. Nano Urea Plus is described as suitable for drones, but no official drone dose or water volume is cited.