Do we realize what Nitrogen is doing around us?
The same nitrogen helping produce our food is also linked to groundwater pollution, blue baby syndrome, algae bloom, acid rain, photochemical smog, and even climate change? An element essential for life is also becoming a source of environmental stress when its natural balance is disturbed. Nitrogen is indispensable for agriculture. It is essential for chlorophyll synthesis, vegetative growth, amino acid formation, and protein synthesis in plants. Because nitrogen is a structural component of chlorophyll molecules, it directly influences photosynthesis and leaf greenness. But plants do not need nitrogen alone. They also require phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, and several micronutrients in balanced proportion. The challenge begins when one nutrient is supplied excessively while others are ignored. Much of the nitrogen entering our food system comes through urea CO(NH₂)₂, one of the most widely used fertilizers in modern agriculture. Yet plants cannot directly absorb atmospheric nitrogen...