Fertilizer control order – 1957

Essential commodities Act – 1955

Objective

         The main of this FCO is to regulate equitable distribution of fertilizers and making fertilizers available at fair prices to the consumers.

Essential features of the order

a.          No manufacture or dealer shall sell any fertilizer at a price exceeding the max- price fixed by the central government.

b.         Every manufacture or dealer shall give a cash or bill memorandum to a purchaser.

c.          No person shall carry on the business of selling fertilizer at any place except under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the license granted to him under this order.

d.         The State Government may appoint such number of persons as it thinks necessary to be inspectors of fertilizers.

e.          No person shall export or attempt to export of any fertilizer from any state.

f.          Any Inspector of fertilizers appointed under FCO can enter and search any place, Seize any fertilizer in respect of which he has reason to believe that any prevision of this order is being controversial along with the packages, coverings.

g.         Every manufacture of manure mixture and straight fertilizers shall legibly mark on the containers of such fertilizers the following particulars namely,

      A.  On the containers of manure mixtures

1.        Register number if any, brand and name of the manure mixture.

2.       The N, Total P2O5, H2O Soluble  P2O5 and K2O contents denoted by the letters N,                   P(T), P(S) and K respectively.

3.       Registered name of the firm and trademark, if any.

4.      The crop or crops for which the manure mixture is suitable and in the case of                       general mixture for all crops that expression “All crops”

     B. On the containers of straight fertilizers

1.         Name of the manufacture.

2.         Trade mark if any

3.         Name of the fertilizer

4.         Percentage by wt of N/P/K.

5.         Gross and Net content by weight in kilograms.

6.         As per this order, a dealer may retain at any time one bag or containers of each                     variety of fertilizer in an open unsealed condition for the purpose of retail sale.

7.         Every containers shall be so sealed that the content, there of cannot be tampered with, with out breaking the seal.  For fertilizer manufactured in India, if packed in bags and stitched in hand shall bear “Lead” seals and lead seals are not necessary of such bags are machine stitched.

8.         The fertilizer inspector can draw samples of fertilizer for analysis in accordance with the procedure of with drawal of samples and send them to state fertilizer laboratories for testing in accordance with the procedure prescribed in this order.

As per this order, there is strict specification for each and every fertilizer for their nutrient content moisture and ingredient if any.

Tolerance or permissible limits

a.   Fertilizer with definite compounds like (NH4)2 SO4, Urea, super (or) potash up to 0.2 unit of the nutrient content is above 20%.  0.1 unit of the nutrient content is below 20%. 

b.  CAN : 0.3 unit, C. DAP, ASN, Mixture and complex = 0.5unit

The Improvement feature of this FCO is in sampling of the fertilizer so in drawing samples, the following measures and precautions shall be observed.

a.    Samples shall not be taken at a place exposed to weather.

b.   Sampling instruments shall be clean and dry when used.

c.    The material being sampled, the sampling instruments and the containers for samples shall be well protected from contamination.

d.   To draw a representative sample, the contents of each container selected for sapling shall be mixed as thoroughly as possible by suitable means.

e.    The sample shall be placed in suitable, clean, dry and air tight glass or other suitable containers

f.    The sample containers shall be in such sizes that are almost completely filled by the sample.

g.   Each sample containers shall be sealed air tight after filling and marked with full details of sampling, date of sampling etc.

h.   Sample shall be stored in cool places.

   Lot size   Containers to be selected  

1. 2 – 8                   2

2. 9 – 27               3

3. 28 – 64               4

4. 65 – 100             5

5. 101 – 300           6

6. 301 – 500           7

7. 501 – 800           8

8. 801 – 1300         9

9.  > 1301         10

1)Ammonium Sulphate:

Moisture percent by weight, maximum                               -   1

Ammoniacal nitrogen percent by weight. minimum            -   20.6

Free acidity (as H2 SO4) percent by                                    -    0.025

weight, maximum (0.04 for material obtained from

by-product ammonia and by-product gypsum)

(iv) Arsenic as (As2O3) percent by weight, maximum    -0.01

 2)Urea (46% N) (While free flowing)

Moisture percent by weight, maximum                                                 -1.0

Total nitrogen, percent by weight, (on dry basis) minimum                 -46.00

Biuret percent by weight, maximum                                                     -1.5

Particle size -90 percent of the material shall

pass through 2.8 mm IS sieve and not less than 80 percent by weight shall be retained on 1mm IS sieve

3. Ammonium Chloride

Moisture percent by weight, maximum -                                                                                     Ammoniacle nitrogen percent by weight, minimum  -25.0

Chloride other than ammonium chloride (as NaCl) percent by weight, (on dry basis) maximum   -2.0

Omitted

4. Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (25% N)

Moisture percent by weight, maximum                                                     - 1.00

Total ammoniacal and nitrate nitrogen percent by weight, minimum        -25.0

(iii) Ammoniacal nitrogen percent by weight, minimum                            -12.5

Calcium nitrate percent by weight, maximum                                           -0.5

Particle size-80 percent of the material shall pass through 4mm IS sieve and be retained on 1mm IS sieve. Not more than 10 percent shall be below 1mm IS sieve.

5. Anhydrous Ammonia

Ammonia percent by weight, minimum                 -   99.0

Water percent by weight, maximum                       -   1.0

Oil content by weight, maximum 20 ppm

6. Urea Super Granulated

(i) Moisture, percent by weight, maximum                                          -  1.00

(ii) Total nitrogen. percent by weight (on dry basis), minimum           -  46.00

(iii) Biuret percent by weight, maximum                                              - 1.5

Particle size -90 percent of the material shall pass through 13.2 mm IS sieve and not less than 80 percent by weight shall be retained on 9.5 mm IS sieve.

7. Urea (Granular)

(i) Moisture, percent by weight, maximum                    - 1.00

(ii) Total nitrogen, percent by weight, minimum            -46.00

(iii) Biuret, percent by weight, maximum                      -1.5

Particle size -90 percent of the material shall pass through 4mm IS sieve and be retained on 2mm IS sieve. Not more than 5 percent shall below 2mm IS sieve.

8. Single Superphosphate ( 14% P2O5 Powdered

(i) Moisture percent by weight, maximum                                                         -   12.0

(ii) Free phosphoric acid (as P2 O5) percent by weight, minimum                     -   14.0

9. Triple Superphosphate

(i) Moisture percent by weight, maximum                                             -  12.0

(ii) Free phosphoric acid (as P2O5) percent by weight, minimum          -   3.0

(iii)Total phosphates (as P2O5) percent by weight, minimum                 -  46.0

(iv) Water soluble phosphates (as P2O5)percent by weight, minimum    -  42.5

10. Bone meal, Raw

(i) Moisture percent by weight, maximum                                                                    -8.0

(ii) Acid insoluble matter percent by weight, maximum                                              -12.0

(iii)Total phosphates (as P2O5)percent by weight, minimum                                        -20.0

(iv) 2percent citric acid soluble phosphates (as P2O5)percent by weight, minimum    -8.0

(v) Nitrogen content of water insoluble portion percent by weight, minimum

Particle size-The material shall pass wholly thorough 2.36 mm IS sieve of which not more than 30 percent shall be retained on 0.85 mm IS sieve.     -3.0                                                                     

11. Rockphosphate

Particle size-Minimum 90 percent of the material shall pass through 0.15 mm IS sieve and the balance 10 percent of material shall pass through 0.25 mm IS sieve.

Total phosphate (as P2O5)percent by weight, minimum                       -   18.0

 12. Potassium Chloride (Muriate of Potash)

(i) Moisture percent by weight, maximum                                                -        0.5

(ii) Water Soluble potash content (as K2) percent by weight minimum    -   60.00**

(iii)Sodium as NaCl percent by weight (on dry basis)maximum

Particle size-95 percent of the material shall pass through 1.7 mm IS sieve and be retained on 0.25 mm IS sieve.                                                                                                           -   3.5

 13. Potassium Sulphate

(i) Moisture percent by weight, maximum          1.5

(ii) Potash content (as K2O) percent by weight, minimum    50.00@

(iii)Total chlorides (as Cl) percent by weight, (on dry basis)   2.5

 maximum

(iv) Sodium as NaCl percent by weight (on dry basis)maximum  2.0

14. Diammonium Phosphate (18-46-0)

(i) Moisture percent by weight, maximum   1.5

(ii) Total nitrogen percent by weight, minimum  18.0

(iii)Ammoniacal nitrogen form percent by weigh, minimum  15.5

(iv) Total nitrogen in the form of urea percent by weight, maximum-2.5

(v)Neutral ammonium citrate soluble phosphates(as P2O5percent by weight, minimum 46.0

(vi) Water soluble phosphates (as P2O5)percent by weight minimum

 41.0

Particle size-90percent of the material shall pass through 4mm IS sieve and be retained on 1mm IS sieve Not more than 5 percent shall be below than 1mm size.