Consider the following statements. Urea forms less than fifty percent ...
Statement 1: Urea forms less than fifty percent of the total nitrogenous fertilisers consumed in India.
Statement 2: More than 90% of the nitrogen from urea is utilised by plants and very less gets wasted due to leaching, volatilization and run off.
Explanation:
Statement 1: Urea forms less than fifty percent of the total nitrogenous fertilisers consumed in India.
This statement is correct. Urea is one of the most widely used nitrogenous fertilizers in India, but it does not account for more than fifty percent of the total nitrogenous fertilizers consumed. There are other nitrogenous fertilizers like ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, and calcium ammonium nitrate that are also used in agriculture.
Statement 2: More than 90% of the nitrogen from urea is utilised by plants and very less gets wasted due to leaching, volatilization, and runoff.
This statement is incorrect. While urea is an inexpensive and widely used fertilizer, it is known to have a relatively low efficiency in terms of nitrogen utilization by plants. Urea is a highly soluble fertilizer, and when applied to the soil, it is prone to losses through various pathways such as leaching, volatilization, and runoff.
Leaching: Urea is water soluble, and excessive irrigation or heavy rainfall can cause the nitrogen to leach out of the root zone of the plants, making it unavailable for uptake. This not only leads to wastage of nitrogen but also poses a risk of water pollution.
Volatilization: Urea contains urease enzyme, which converts urea into ammonia. This ammonia can be lost to the atmosphere as a gas through a process called volatilization, especially when urea is surface-applied or left on the soil surface without incorporation. Volatilization losses can be significant, especially in warm and humid conditions.
Runoff: Urea can also be lost through runoff when applied excessively or during heavy rain events. Runoff carries the nitrogen along with soil particles and can lead to water pollution in nearby water bodies.
Therefore, it can be concluded that statement 2 is incorrect as urea does not have a high nitrogen utilization efficiency, and a significant amount of nitrogen from urea gets wasted through leaching, volatilization, and runoff.
In summary, statement 1 is correct as urea forms less than fifty percent of the total nitrogenous fertilizers consumed in India. Statement 2 is incorrect as more than 90% of the nitrogen from urea does not get utilized by plants, and a significant amount gets wasted due to leaching, volatilization, and runoff.
Consider the following statements. Urea forms less than fifty percent ...
- It may be noted that urea forms around 80 per cent of the total nitrogenous fertilisers consumed in India and it has recorded exponential increase in consumption over the years.
- Around 30-50 per cent of nitrogen from urea is utilised by plants and the rest gets wasted due to quick chemical transformation as a result of leaching, volatilization and run off, thereby low use efficiency.