Perlka
Perlka (calcium cyanamide)
CALCIUM CYANAMIDE – A NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY ENHANCER NITROGENOUS FERTILIZER
The country uses 80% of Nitrogen through Urea and remaining 20% from DAP and NP/NPK fertilizers. These are quite good fertilizers but they have one major drawback that their utilization capacity (called as NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY –NUE) by plants is only around 30% because they are easily converted into Nitrates in soil in a very short period. As the plants can’t consume all the N in that period, 70% of N is lost from soil through leaching, volatilization or denitrification etc. This is a loss to farmers besides polluting ground water and water bodies. Various techniques are adopted to improve efficiency of these fertilizers like Split application, Band placement and use of Coated/Nitrification inhibitor chemicals but there is very little success.
However, there is a nitrogenous fertilizer that has great potential in this regard. This fertilizer is called Calcium Cyanamide, which is the first chemical synthetic fertilizer introduced about 100 years ago. However, its Nitrification Inhibitor property has been established very recently. It is widely used in USA, Canada, Europe, Africa, China and South East Asia. This dual property makes the product unique unlike other fertilizers.
METHOD OF APPLICATION:
Perlka should be applied only in moist soil as Basal application (7-10 days before sowing/ transplanting in case of cereals /vegetables) and mixed well for proper mineralization. Adequate moisture should be ensured after application. It can be applied along with all NPK fertilizers as basal application. For longer duration crops, a second dose may be applied at the time of earthing up and as band placement in fruit crops. The dose and method of application for different crops have been indicated in the enclosed table.
ADVANTAGES OF PERLKA OVER OTHER N FERTILIZERS:
- Perlka is a natural slow release N fertilizer with strong Nitrification inhibitor property, which is not available in any other N fertilizers.
- 100% of N applied through Perlka is utilized by plants while it is only 30% in case of other N fertilizers and so 70 % is lost from soil causing huge monetary loss to farmers.
- Perlka also improves efficiency of N other fertilizers applied along with it by more than 70-80%.
- Perlka application reduces Nitrate losses from soil and also prevent its pollution in ground water and other aquifers. This is due to presence of a special chemical –DCD, which is not present in any other fertilizers.
- Use of Perlka alone or in combination with other N fertilizers like Urea, DAP/ NPK, saves N dose by 25-50% of crops.
- Perlka provides two nutrients –N and Ca. Besides 20 % CaO present in Perlka acts as a very effective liming material for Acidic soils.
- Perlka have many advantages like suppressing germination of weeds and reducing soil borne fungal diseases, nematodes and parasitic worms etc.
PRECAUTIONS:
- Perlka should be applied in the moist soil only as a basal application and it should not be applied as foliar application or broadcast in the standing crop.
- Perlka being hygroscopic like urea should be kept in moisture proof HDPE/Polypropylene bags. After opening of bags, the entire contents should be used.
DOSE, TIME & METHOD OF APPLICATION OF PERLKA
Direct contact with skin and naked eyes should be avoided during application and use hand gloves.
| CROP | Recommended N Dose (Kg/acre) | Reduced N Dose ,when Perlka is applied (kg/acre) | Method of application |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat | 48 | 34 | Apply 10kgN as Perlka (50Kg Perlka) per acre along with full dose P&K and 1/3 of remaining N as Urea/ any other N fertilizer as basal application during last land preparation before sowing/ planting. Balance 2/3 of N should be applied in two splits. |
| Rice | 48 | 34 | -do- |
| Cabbage/Cauliflower | 48 | 34 | -do- |
| Onion | 60 | 42 | -do- |
| Potato/ Sweet potato | 72 | 50 | -do- |
| Sugarcane | 72 | 50 | -do- * For 18 Months sugarcane crop in Western and Southern India, the reduced N dose is 70 Kg n /acre. For this apply10kgN as Perlka (50Kg Perlka) per acre along with full dose P&K and 1/3 of remaining N as Urea/ any other N fertilizer as basal application during last land preparation before planting. A second dose of 50kg Perlka /acre along with 15 kg N through other N fertilizers should be applied as the time of earthing up and remaining 15 kg N/acre after 180 days as other N fertilizers. |
| Turmeric / Ginger | 150 | 105 | -do- |
| Banana | 200g/ Plant | 140g/Plant | New Plantation: - Apply 50 kg Perlka per acre along with full dose P&K and 20 kg N per acre as Urea/ any other N fertilizer as basal application during last land preparation before planting. Remaining 30kg N per acre should be applied through other N fertilizers in two splits after 3 months and before flowering. Old Plantation: Basal dose as above and should be applied after harvest of main crop and mixed well in soil as band placement. Remaining N dose in two splits as above. |
| Papaya | 200g/plant | 140g/Plant | -do- |
| Mango | 1000g/tree | 700g/ tree | Apply 1 kg Perlka per tree along with full dose P&K and 300g N as Urea/ any other N fertilizer as basal application during August /September and mixed well in soil as band placement. The same dose of Perlka and other N fertilizer should be applied again in February. |
| Apple | 700g/ tree | 500g/tree | - |
| Citrus Plants | 600g/ tree | 420g/tree | Apply 500g Perlka per tree along with full dose P&K and 110g N as Urea/ any other N fertilizer as basal application after pruning and mixed well in soil as band placement. The same dose of Perlka and other N fertilizer should be applied again before start up flowering. |
| Grapes | 300g/vine | 210g/ vine | Apply 500g Perlka per tree along with full dose P&K and 55g N as Urea/ any other N fertilizer as basal application after pruning and mixed well in soil as band placement. The same dose of other N fertilizer should be applied again after two months |
| Pepper | 100g / plant | 70 g/ plant | Apply 250g Perlka per tree along with full dose P&K and 20g N as Urea/ any other N fertilizer as basal application and mixed well in soil as band placement. |
