Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, has been granted patent for a liquid fertilizer suitable for drone spraying.
The Controller of Patents, Government of India, has awarded the patent titled “A Water-in-Water Pickering Emulsion Based Nano Complex Foliar Fertilizer and Preparation Method Thereof” .
The drone-compatible nano fertilizer was developed by researcher D. Pradesh under the guidance of faculty members K.S. Subramanian and S. Marimuthu at the Centre for Agricultural Nanotechnology, factoring in labour shortage, a TNAU press release said.
Though farmers have shifted to using liquid nitrogen fertilizers with drones, it has often led to spray drift, poor efficiency, and low nitrogen levels in crops.
To address these challenges, the researchers adopted the Pickering emulsion technique to increase the nitrogen content of the liquid fertilizer. In this technique, the nutrient is encapsulated with silica nanoparticles cross-linked using polyethylene glycol, increasing the nitrogen content to around 32–36%.
This new fertilizer has higher density and improved stability, enabling more accurate nutrient delivery and minimizing drift during application, the press release said.
Published – December 24, 2025 07:42 pm IST
