Nickel guide
Nickel is the micronutrient the plant needs in the smallest amount. It is part of urease, the enzyme that breaks down urea inside the...
Read the full guideNickel and urea: why plants need nickel to use urea
How the nickel enzyme urease lets plants use urea, what happens without it, and why it matters for crops fed mainly with urea.
Urea is India's main nitrogen fertilizer. Most of it turns into ammonium and nitrate in the soil, but some urea enters the plant directly, especially from foliar sprays. The plant breaks this urea down with urease, an enzyme that contains nickel. With too little nickel, urea builds up and burns leaf tips, and nitrogen is wasted.
By Gafar Laiya and the Gujarat Bio Organics team. Updated November 2026.
In the soil and in the plant
- Soil microbes also use urease to turn urea into ammonium.
- Inside the plant, the plant's own urease needs nickel.
- Foliar urea sprays rely on the plant's urease.
What this means for growers
- Most fields have enough nickel.
- Balanced feeding matters more than adding nickel.
- If urea sprays burn leaf tips at normal strength, ask for a leaf test.
Read more
Doses depend on the crop, soil and product, so this page gives methods, not amounts. Take the dose from your soil test report, the product label or your local agriculture officer or KVK. Results differ from farm to farm with soil, weather, crop and management. Farmer experiences on this site are their own reports, not a promise of results.
Read next
Nickel deficiency symptoms: mouse-ear and leaf tip burn
What nickel deficiency looks like, why it is rare in Indian fields, and how to tell it from urea burn and other leaf tip problems.
Read the full guideHow Gujarat Bio Organics can help
Since 2006, lakhs of farmers from Kashmir to Kanyakumari have used Immunity products on almost every crop: from the mango farms around Somnath to the apple orchards of Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir, the tea estates of Assam and Darjeeling, and the banana, coconut and cardamom farms of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Each Special is one formula made for one crop and its common problems. Tell us your crop, soil test and what you see, and our team will tell you what to check, whether a micronutrient correction is needed, and which Special fits your programme.
Results differ from farm to farm with soil, weather, crop and management. Farmer experiences on this site are their own reports, not a promise of results.
Questions
Does nickel make urea work better?
Only where nickel is short. In most fields it is already enough.
Is nickel safe to apply?
Only in tiny amounts where a test shows shortage. Excess nickel is toxic.