Pune-based BioPrime AgriSolutions Pvt. Ltd. has been able to improve crop nutrition by enhancing plants’ nutrient uptake and promoting more efficient fertilizer use, said co-founder and CEO Renuka Diwan. 

The company’s initial studies have shown enhanced nutrient concentration in grains with reduced fertilizer inputs, she told businessline in an online interaction. 

”A study of two years of successive fertilizer reduction of 25 per cent showed 10 per cent improvement in nitrogen storage in grain, 6 per cent increase in phosphorus, 3 per cent improvement in potassium,  10 per cent improvement in iron storage in grain,” said Diwan.

By reducing the fertilizer application by 25 per cent, the nutrient uptake was improved. Nitrogen efficiency improved by 26 per cent, while that of phosphorus improved by 46 per cent. per cent and potassium by 37.7 per cent, she said, adding that the improvement was in kg per hectare.

Drop in nutrient levels

In the case of iron and zinc, the uptake was up 68.8 per cent and 33.7 per cent, respectively. “This helped address zinc deficiency across major Indian rice-growing belts due to soil conditions,” said Diwan.

Over the past 50-70 years, the nutritional quality of fruits, vegetables, and staple crops has significantly degraded globally, leaving modern foods less nutrient-dense than those eaten by previous generations. 

“Decades of historical data analysis show median declines ranging from 5 to 40 per cent or more across essential minerals, vitamins, and proteins. Calcium content dropped by 16 per cent, iron by 15 per cent, and phosphorus by 9 per cent, said the company’s co-founder and CEO. 

At the same time, protein levels in staple crops such as wheat dropped by 23 per cent between 1955 and 2016. 

Unlocking NUE blocks

Improvement in crop nutrition has been achieved by increasing the intake of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and key micronutrients such as zinc and iron.

BioPrime has discovered several molecules that help unlock Nutritional Use Efficiency (NUE) bottlenecks, such as availability, uptake and use efficiency, she said. 

The technology, to enhance crop productivity and nutrition value of food, is supported by Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection, and the company has been working on NUE challenges over the past 3 years. 

“Fertilizer use efficiency in India is below 20 per cent, compared to global averages of about 30 per cent, signalling significant value to unlock,” the company’s co-founder and CEO said.

Stress management

Usually, when nutrients are applied to crops, only 5-20 per cent of the phosphorus is used. Compared with other crops, crops use potassium and nitrogen more effectively at 40-50 per cent.

“This requires a multi- layered solution. Availability can be solved by fertilizer augmentation technologies. Uptake and use efficiency will improve the nutritional value of food,” she said.  

Diwan said NUE for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium drops by 10-30 per cent due to stress, depending on its severity. Extreme conditions cause even larger yield-based reductions. Thus, long-term stress management is also an essential component to drive up the NUE.

“This is extremely important from a food security and public nutrition standpoint,” said the company’s co-founder and CEO. 

Published on June 18, 2026