Dr Heinisch Agro Solutions India Pvt Ltd said on Thursday its nano copper fertilizer AgroCuprum got registered in four states. The product meets new government rules for nano fertilizers. Managing director Rajni Rana said, "Registration in four states is a milestone for us, and more importantly for farmers."
Dr Heinisch Agro Solutions India Pvt Ltd (HAS) on Thursday said its nano copper fertilizer AgroCuprum has been registered in four states -- Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka and Rajasthan -- making it one of the first products to meet the country's rules for nano fertilizers.
The registration was granted under a government gazette order dated April 22, 2024, which brought nano fertilizers under India's Fertiliser Control Order with defined specifications, the company said in a statement.
India is among the first countries to introduce a regulation specifically for nano fertilizers. The company said registration helps farmers and dealers distinguish registered products from those that merely use the word "nano" on their labels.
AgroCuprum, a liquid formulation, is applied at about 100 mL per acre per application, or less than 0.4 mL per litre of water, HAS said. The company said that works out to roughly 1 gram of copper per hectare, compared with about 1 kilogram of conventional copper product.
Copper is a micronutrient that supports photosynthesis, enzyme activity, and pollen and seed production. Indian farmers have typically applied it as copper oxychloride, copper hydroxide or copper sulphate, at 1 to 10 grams of product per litre of spray solution.
In a worked example for one crop provided by the company, a single AgroCuprum treatment cost about Rs 0.67 per litre of spray solution, versus Rs 3.60 to Rs 4.04 for conventional copper products. Seasonal cost per litre remained lower even with more applications, HAS said, adding that results vary by crop and conditions.
The product can be applied as a foliar spray or through irrigation. Its copper nanoparticles measure below 20 nanometres, and it is based on technology developed in Germany by B+H Solutions and covered by European Patent EP 3 205 637 B1, the company said.
Development was supported by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
HAS offers crop-specific application protocols, including for tomato, chilli, capsicum, cucumber and pomegranate. It advised farmers to confirm copper deficiency with a soil or tissue test before treatment, as symptoms can have other causes.
"Registration in four states is a milestone for us, and more importantly for farmers," said Rajni Rana, managing director of HAS. She said the company aims to reach more farmers through dealers and field demonstrations as registrations progress in other states.
"German nanotechnology is only valuable if it works in the field," said Martin Heinisch, managing director of HAS and chief executive of B+H Solutions GmbH.
HAS, the exclusive Indian partner of B+H Solutions, is building a network of agri-input dealers and distributors in the four states and expects registration in more states to follow.