Vasant Urja
Vasant Urja is a chitin derivative based biopolymer developed by VSI Pune and BARC, Mumbai for the application in sugarcane. It has been irradiated with Electron Beam radiations to obtain its nanoparticles. Irradiation increases its efficacy and water solubility. It is primarily used as biostimulator and has been recommended by JOINT- AGRESCO-2018 for improving sugarcane yield and sugar production. Apart from yiled improvement in sugarcane it has shown excellent elicitor properties for inducing drought/salt/cold tolerance and even in helping crop coming out from flood tolerance.
Vasant urja Application benefits-
• Sett / seed treatment helps in better germination, vigorous growth, increases white roots and root nodulation (in leguminous crops)
• Seed/ seedling dipping protects plant from soil born diseases and soil drenching helps in increasing beneficial microbes growth in soil.
• Spray /soil drenching helps in improving initiation of early and uniform tillering, growth, more flowering and fruit setting.
• Foliar application increases the leaf area index, chlorophyll stability index, prevent moisture loss through transpiration by partial closure of stomata. The stress tolerance metabolite is activated so that crop losses due to stress are reduced.
• Sprays have been found effective in reducing diseases which helps in pesticide applications. It has been noticed that vasant urja has excellent compatibility with all beneficial microbes and it enhances their growth as well as antimicrobial secretions.
• It has also compatibility with liquid fertilizers, pesticides and increases their efficacy if applied along with Vasant urja
• It enhances the branching , early and higher flowering, flower and fruit shining color keeping them fresh for longer time.
• It is non-toxic, completely biodegradable has no residual effect.
Vasant urja has been tested in sugarcane and resulted in 25 to 30 t/ha sugarcane and 3 .5 to 4 to/ha sugar improvement . In potato, onion as intercrops/ sole crops it has showed good elicitor for suppression of diseases and improving yield by 8-10 t/ha. it has also showed promising results for disease suppression and yield improvement in vegetables, cereals, pulses, horticulture crops like cabbage, cauliflower, capsicum, chillies, soybean, mung, groundnut, turmeric , ginger, papaya, pomegranate banana , mango, cashew grapes etc.
Spray Schedule:
Sett/ seed dipping – 5 ml per liter of water for 30 min.
Foliar spray 5ml per liter of water on vegetable crops (Brinjal, cabbage) about 10-12 days interval and long duration crops viz. Sugarcane, banana, etc about 30 day’s interval.
Precaution: Use clean and non-polluted water.
pH of spraying solution should be in range of 5.5 to 6.