Saidul Haque Shariatpur: The farmers in different areas of the country, who used guti urea (urea super granules) on their Boro fields, are very happy as they have got higher production of the major crop this year. Guti urea has proved highly effective as the farmers using it got higher yield of Boro than those who used traditional urea fertiliser, according to many local farmers. Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Shariatpur district said the farmers got one tonnes more of Boro yield per hectare of land this year using guti urea. Alauddin, a farmer of Paprail village under Vedorganj upazila of Shariatpur said, "I have been using normal urea on my crop land for 30 years for cultivation of paddy. "This season, I used guti urea on my land and got 30 percent more production than the previous year," he added. Soil experts said guti urea is more effective than normal urea and this newly developed urea is also environment-friendly as it is placed deep into the soil of the crop field. Mainul Ahsan, a soil expert, said that of the total amount of traditional urea used on paddy field, only 30 percent feed the land while 70 percent loses in different ways. On the other hand, more than 70 percent of guti urea is consumed by paddy plants as it is placed under the surface of the land, the expert added. He also pointed out that normal urea loses its efficiency in three ways -- volatilisation, washing out during rain and absorption by ground surface of the paddy field. Use of normal urea is also responsible for polluting environment, the expert said adding, "Normal urea causes water pollution. It pollutes water of rivers and other water bodies and do harm to fish resources after being washed out by rain water. DAE office sources said 29,849 hectares of land had been brought under Boro cultivation in Shariatpur last year and guti urea used on 12,204 hectares of the total land. The average yield of Boro paddy was about eight tonnes per hectare, the DAE sources said. In 2011, Boro paddy was cultivated on 31,200 hectares of land in the district and guti urea was used on 13,665 hectares, DAE sources said. The average yield is about 9.5 tonnes per hectare, the sources added. Normal urea have to use three times on the paddy land while guti urea have to put on the land for once, Ayub Mahmud, Upazila Agriculture Officer of Vedorganj Upazila of Shariatpur, said. Besides, the farmers usually forget to maintain timing for use of normal urea on their land, he added. Ayub Mahmud also said that the farmers got higher yield of Boro paddy mainly thanks to use of guti urea, quality seeds, irrigation facilities and favourable weather. International Fertiliser Develop¬ment Centre (IFDC) is continuing a five-year project 'Accelerating Agriculture Productivity Improvement (AAPI)' in 11 districts of the country. The organisation is working for the development of marginalised farmers through increasing agricultural production. It is also working for promoting small entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector beside ensuring food security of the country as well as encouraging farmers to use guti urea for good harvest. During a visit to Trishal upazila of Mymensingh, many farmers who used guti urea on their paddy field told daily sun that they got higher yield than previous year for using guti area. The DAE officials of the district said one hectare of land needs about 250 kg of normal urea while only 170 kg of guti urea is enough for the same land and a farmer can save Tk 700 per hectare by using guti urea. Use of guti urea keeps paddy field almost free from weeds, Seikh Amzad Ali, a farmer of Boilor village under Trishal upazila said, "I got 25 percent more yield for using guti urea compared to last the last year. Mohammad Saiful Islam, Upazila Agriculture Officer of Trishal said, "Food production of the country could be increased by using guti urea on the paddy field and we are encouraging farmers to use guti urea." When contacted, Jiban Krishna Biswas, Chief Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, said guti urea is more effective than traditional urea fertiliser. Every paddy plant can consume guti urea equally as it is placed on the land symmetrically, he pointed out. "Use of guti urea also reduces the production cost of farmers and it is our main focus to cut production cost in paddy cultivation," Jiban Krishna mentioned. The IFDC is also going to introduce NPK guti fertiliser made of urea, TSP and MOP fertiliser. Once it is introduced, farmers will be able to minimise their production cost, IFDC officials said. (Source: The Daily Sun) (Link:http://www.daily-sun.com/details_yes_20-03-2011_Use-of-Guti-urea-boosts-Boro-production-_163_1_9_1_0.html)