PAU urges growers to use DAP alternatives
From procurement of paddy below minimum support price (MSP) to tardy lifting and now the shortage of DAP, the woes of farmers are far from over.
In the wake of growing concerns regarding shortage of diammonium phosphate (DAP), soil scientists of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) have suggested alternative sources of phosphatic fertilisers.
The state’s annual DAP requirement is 8.5 lakh tonnes, of which 5.50 lakh tonnes is utilised during the rabi season to cultivate wheat, potatoes, and other horticulture crops. However, the supply of conventionally used granular DAP, majority of which is imported, has been unreliable, with shortfalls and delays triggering panic among farmers.
Dr Dhanwinder Singh, head, Department of Soil Science, PAU said the DAP was commonly used fertiliser in rice-wheat system. Farmers preferred the DAP over other phosphorus fertilizers as it provided 18 per cent nitrogen and was easily available, he said.
“At present, there are many fertilisers that can be used as an alternate source of phosphorus. Farmers can apply single super phosphate (SSP), NPK (12:32:16), NPK (10:26:26) and triple super phosphate (TSP) fertilisers for immediate use, rather than getting disheartened over the unavailability of DAP,” said Dr Dhanwinder.
In one bag, DAP has 46 per cent of phosphorus content while NPK (12:32:16) has 32 per cent, the SSP has 16 per cent, NPK (10:26:26) has 26 per cent and the TSP has 46 per cent, which farmers would be using for the first time, he said, adding that the TSP had a similar phosphorus content but lacked nitrogen.
To get phosphorus equivalent to one bag of DAP, farmers would be required to use 1.5 bags of NPK (12:32:16), three bags of SSP, 1.8 bags of NPK (10:26:26) and one bag of the TSP.
Amrik Singh, a farmer from Dhandra village said only limited quantity of alternative fertilisers were available and priced too high.
Officials of the Agriculture Department said the state would get the DAP supply by end of November and DAP alternatives were readily available in the market.
