Improving nitrogen use efficiency in Indian agriculture: challenges, technological innovations and policy pathways
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59436/jsiane.240c.2583-2093Keywords:
: nitrogen use efficiency; ammonia volatilization; enhanced-efficiency fertilizers; nano-urea; biological nitrification inhibition; precision nutrient management; fertilizer policy; Indo-Gangetic PlainsAbstract
India is among the world’s largest consumers of nitrogen (N) fertilizer, and urea supplies most of it. National and district-scale budgets show persistent N surplus in the Green Revolution belt, while many rainfed districts remain under-fertilized. This review synthesizes peer-reviewed evidence on: (i) the magnitude and pathways of N loss from cereal systems and their dependence on soil and water management; (ii) the performance of precision and knowledge-based N management, enhanced-efficiency fertilizers (EEFs), nano-urea, gene-level improvements in N use, biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) and engineered associative N fixation; and (iii) the economic and institutional structures that can decouple farmer N decisions from agronomic and social optima. Global syntheses indicate that deep placement, urease inhibitors and controlled-release products reduce NH₃ volatilization by 54–68%, whereas nitrification inhibitors can increase it by 38%. Urease inhibitors in rice paddies increased yield by 9% and N use efficiency by 29% while reducing aggregated N loss by 41%, but EEF benefits are generally greatest when the N rate is reduced. Replicated Indian rice trials show that nano-urea sprays combined with 66–75% of the recommended N dose maintained yield, whereas halving soil N caused 16–19% yield penalties. These results support a supplementary, rather than substitutive, role for nano-urea. Emerging technologies, including GRF4-based N-efficient germplasm, BNI-enabled wheat, UAV-based machine-learning diagnostics and engineered diazotrophs, have not yet been validated at scale in India. We conclude that a differentiated strategy is required: surplus reduction and efficiency tools in oversupplied districts; adequacy and improved placement in deficit districts; price and delivery reform that rewards efficiency; independent efficacy testing before national promotion of new products; and a national N accounting system. We propose measurable targets and a research agenda.
References
Abalos, D., Jeffery, S., Sanz-Cobena, A., Guardia, G., Vallejo, A., 2014. Meta-analysis of the effect of urease and nitrification inhibitors on crop productivity and nitrogen use efficiency. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 189, 136–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2014.03.036
Bode, L., Beusen, A.H.W., Dekker, S.C., Bouwman, A.F., 2023. Spatial and temporal patterns of nutrients and their environmental impacts from the agriculture sector in India. Regional Environmental Change 23, 155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-023-02137-9
Chen, X., Cui, Z., Fan, M., Vitousek, P., Zhao, M., Ma, W., et al., 2014. Producing more grain with lower environmental costs. Nature 514, 486–489. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13609
Cui, Z., Zhang, H., Chen, X., Zhang, C., Ma, W., Huang, C., et al., 2018. Pursuing sustainable productivity with millions of smallholder farmers. Nature 555, 363–366. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature25785
Elsayed, H., Beusen, A.H.W., Prusty, A.K., Bouwman, A.F., 2025. Long-term variations (1970–2020) and spatial patterns of nitrogen and phosphorus soil budgets and fates in Indian agriculture. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 130, 17–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-024-10375-4
Feng, J., Li, F., Deng, A., Feng, X., Fang, F., Zhang, W., 2016. Integrated assessment of the impact of enhanced-efficiency nitrogen fertilizer on N₂O emission and crop yield. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 231, 218–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.06.038
Frank, M., Husted, S., 2024. Is India’s largest fertilizer manufacturer misleading farmers and society using dubious plant and soil science? Plant and Soil 496, 257–267. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06191-4
Government of India, 2015. Department of Fertilizers notification No. 12012/20/2007-FPP, 25 May 2015: mandatory neem coating of urea. Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, New Delhi. Summary available at: https://pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=122908
Government of India, 2025. Urea Subsidy Scheme: statutory maximum retail price of urea. Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, New Delhi. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2290436
Goyal, S.S., Kumar, R., Bhatia, U., 2024. Assessing temporal dynamics of nitrogen surplus in Indian agriculture: district scale data from 1966 to 2017. Scientific Data 11, 1194. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-04023-3
Haskett, T.L., Paramasivan, P., Mendes, M.D., et al., 2022. Engineered plant control of associative nitrogen fixation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119, e2117465119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2117465119
Huang, S., Lv, W., Bloszies, S., Shi, Q., Pan, X., Zeng, Y., 2016. Fertilizer placement to improve crop nutrient acquisition and yield: a review and meta-analysis. Field Crops Research 196, 389–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2016.07.018
Kah, M., Tufenkji, N., White, J.C., 2019. Nano-enabled strategies to enhance crop nutrition and protection. Nature Nanotechnology 14, 532–540. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0439-4
Kim, D.-G., Saggar, S., Roudier, P., 2012. The effect of nitrification inhibitors on soil ammonia emissions in nitrogen managed soils: a meta-analysis. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 93, 51–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-012-9498-9
Ladha, J.K., Tirol-Padre, A., Reddy, C.K., Cassman, K.G., Verma, S., Powlson, D.S., et al., 2016. Global nitrogen budgets in cereals: a 50-year assessment for maize, rice, and wheat production systems. Scientific Reports 6, 19355. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep19355
Lassaletta, L., Billen, G., Grizzetti, B., Anglade, J., Garnier, J., 2014. 50 year trends in nitrogen use efficiency of world cropping systems: the relationship between yield and nitrogen input to cropland. Environmental Research Letters 9, 105011. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/10/105011
Li, T., Zhang, W., Yin, J., Chadwick, D., Norse, D., Lu, Y., et al., 2018a. Enhanced-efficiency fertilizers are not a panacea for resolving the nitrogen problem. Global Change Biology 24, e511–e521. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13918
Li, S., Tian, Y., Wu, K., Ye, Y., Yu, J., Zhang, J., et al., 2018b. Modulating plant growth–metabolism coordination for sustainable agriculture. Nature 560, 595–600. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0415-5
Linquist, B.A., Liu, L., van Kessel, C., van Groenigen, K.J., 2013. Enhanced efficiency nitrogen fertilizers for rice systems: meta-analysis of yield and nitrogen uptake. Field Crops Research 154, 246–254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2013.08.014
Martinez-Feria, R., Simmonds, M.B., Ozaydin, B., Lewis, S., et al., 2024. Genetic remodeling of soil diazotrophs enables partial replacement of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer with biological nitrogen fixation in maize. Scientific Reports 14, 27754. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-78243-3
Móring, A., Hooda, S., Raghuram, N., Adhya, T.K., Ahmad, A., Bandyopadhyay, S.K., et al., 2021. Nitrogen challenges and opportunities for agricultural and environmental science in India. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 5, 505347. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.505347
Pan, B., Lam, S.K., Mosier, A., Luo, Y., Chen, D., 2016. Ammonia volatilization from synthetic fertilizers and its mitigation strategies: a global synthesis. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 232, 283–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.08.019
Pathak, H., Fagodiya, R.K., 2022. Nutrient budget in Indian agriculture during 1970–2018: assessing inputs and outputs of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 22, 1832–1845. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-022-00775-2
Peramaiyan, P., Reddy, K.S., Kumar, S., Srivastava, A.K., Nath, D., Kumar, V., Khandai, S., Kumar, V., Singh, S., Saikia, K., 2026. Assessing the scope for nano-urea to reduce nitrogen inputs while maintaining rice yields in India. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 10, 1759447. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2026.1759447
Reddy, K.S., Shivay, Y.S., Kumar, D., Pooniya, V., Prasanna, R., Shrivastava, M., Mandi, S., Nayak, S., Baral, K., 2024. Relative performance of urea and nano-urea in conjunction with zinc fertilization on growth, productivity, and nitrogen use efficiency in spring wheat. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 24, 3593–3609. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-024-01780-3
Ryu, M.-H., Zhang, J., Toth, T., Khokhani, D., Geddes, B.A., Mus, F., Garcia-Costas, A., Peters, J.W., et al., 2020. Control of nitrogen fixation in bacteria that associate with cereals. Nature Microbiology 5, 314–330. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-019-0631-2
Sapkota, T.B., Majumdar, K., Jat, M.L., Kumar, A., Bishnoi, D.K., McDonald, A.J., Pampolino, M., 2014. Precision nutrient management in conservation agriculture based wheat production of Northwest India: profitability, nutrient use efficiency and environmental footprint. Field Crops Research 155, 233–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2013.09.001
Subbarao, G.V., Kishii, M., Bozal-Leorri, A., Ortiz-Monasterio, I., Gao, X., Ibba, M.I., et al., 2021. Enlisting wild grass genes to combat nitrification in wheat farming: a nature-based solution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, e2106595118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2106595118
Velayudhan, P.K., Sivalingam, N., Jha, G.K., Singh, A., Pathak, H., 2024. Nitrogen budget of Indian agriculture: trends, determinants and challenges. Environment, Development and Sustainability 26, 10225–10242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03142-y
Xia, L., Lam, S.K., Chen, D., Wang, J., Tang, Q., Yan, X., 2017. Can knowledge-based N management produce more staple grain with lower greenhouse gas emission and reactive nitrogen pollution? A meta-analysis. Global Change Biology 23, 1917–1925. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13455
Zha, H., Miao, Y., Wang, T., Li, Y., Zhang, J., Sun, W., Feng, Z., Kusnierek, K., 2020. Improving unmanned aerial vehicle remote sensing-based rice nitrogen nutrition index prediction with machine learning. Remote Sensing 12, 215. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12020215
Zhang, X., Davidson, E.A., Mauzerall, D.L., Searchinger, T.D., Dumas, P., Shen, Y., 2015. Managing nitrogen for sustainable development. Nature 528, 51–59. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature15743
Zhang, X., Zou, T., Lassaletta, L., Mueller, N.D., Tubiello, F.N., Lisk, M.D., et al., 2021. Quantification of global and national nitrogen budgets for crop production. Nature Food 2, 529–540. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00318-5
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Maharaj Singh Educational Research Development Society
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
