FCO Specifications: Why the Gazette Date Matters

A wrong label led to an FIR in a case I know. I will not name the people or describe the circumstances, but the lesson has stayed with me: on a fertiliser or biostimulant pack, the label is where every earlier decision becomes visible, and where it can be checked. That is why I take FCO specifications seriously, and why I want everyone in our trade to be able to check them easily.

I have worked in the fertiliser sector for more than 20 years, first as a consultant and now as a manufacturer of organic fertilisers and biostimulants. In that time I have heard the same question again and again, from manufacturers, marketers, dealers and students: what exactly does the FCO say about this product today? Finding a product in a list is easy. Knowing which version of its specification you are reading, and which Gazette notification put it there, is the part that protects you.

How the FCO actually changes

India's Fertiliser (Inorganic, Organic or Mixed) (Control) Order, 1985, usually called the Fertiliser Control Order or simply the FCO, sets the specification for every fertiliser that may be made, imported or sold in the country: the nutrients it must contain, the limits it must stay within and how a sample is tested. Biofertilisers have their own schedule (Schedule III), and since 2021 biostimulants have one too (Schedule VI).

The Order is not a book that is printed once and left alone. It changes through notifications in the Gazette of India, each with its own S.O. number and date. A notification can:

• insert a new product, such as a new NPK grade or a new biostimulant;
• substitute an entry, replacing its whole specification with a new one;
• amend a single line, such as a minimum value or a particle-size rule; or
• omit a product, taking it out of the Order.

Over the years these changes add up. Schedule I, Part A, the main list of fertilisers, was itself substituted as a whole by S.O. 349(E) of 6 February 2017, and dozens of entries have been inserted, changed or omitted since. A document that was correct when it was saved can quietly fall out of date.

One product, two versions: a real example

Consider Humic acid 1.5% (Granules), a biostimulant in Schedule VI. Its entry was substituted by S.O. 876(E) of 16 February 2026, in force from 17 February 2026. The current specification has four parameters: humic acid at least 1.5 per cent, total organic carbon at least 1.32 per cent, a bulk density of 1.0403 ± 0.03 g/cc and a pH of 6.0 to 8.0 in a 10 per cent solution. The crop and dose are chilli, with two soil applications at 30 kg per hectare.

I have seen a label for this product, printed before the change, that still lists six parameters, including organic matter and solubility. Those two lines are not in the current entry. When a specification changes, every older label, leaflet and product sheet needs checking against the new one.

Removals matter just as much. In April 2026, S.O. 1814(E) omitted three fertilisers from Schedule I: calcium ammonium nitrate (25% N), urea ammonium nitrate (32% N, liquid) and ammonium nitrate phosphate (23-23-0). In September 2025 a single notification, S.O. 4441(E) of 29 September 2025, took 14 biostimulants out of Schedule VI, including two mixtures that had been added only seven weeks earlier. A list saved a year ago would still show all of them.

And sometimes two entries carry the same name. Schedule VI has two products called "Seaweed (Sargassum wightii) extract 35% (Powder)", serial 21 and serial 38, notified in 2025 and 2026, with different carriers, specifications and doses. Look up the name alone and you can easily pick the wrong one.

What NanoKheti's FCO tools cover

We have built two reference tools, both listed on NanoKheti's Downloads page.

The FCO biostimulant list (Schedule VI) covers all 227 biostimulants in Schedule VI, across 11 categories: from humic and fulvic acids (34) and seaweed extracts (54) to mixed formulations (58), protein hydrolysates and amino acids (36), and smaller groups such as vitamins, antioxidants and anti-transpirants. Each product has its own page with the notified composition, specifications, crops and doses, a per-acre dose calculator, the test methods and its notification history, covering notifications up to S.O. 1574(E) of 25 March 2026.

The FCO fertiliser specifications tool covers 192 products: every fertiliser in Schedule I, Part A, from urea, DAP and MOP to the NPK grades, 29 micronutrient fertilisers, 42 fortified, 9 hundred-per-cent water-soluble, 5 beneficial-element and 16 liquid fertilisers; the 11 biofertilisers of Schedule III; the 8 organic fertilisers of Schedule IV, from city compost and vermicompost to bone meal; the non-edible de-oiled cake of Schedule V; the 5 nano fertilisers of Schedule VII; and the 2 fermented organic manures of Schedule VIII. It is amended up to the Ninth Amendment Order, 2026 (S.O. 4045(E), 22 July 2026). Each page shows the notified values and limits, the tolerance, the test method and the notification history, and omitted entries are listed separately.

Both tools carry an "Updated as on October 2026" note. That date tells you when we last checked for newer notifications; the exact coverage of each tool is stated on its pages. When a change has been reported but we have not yet been able to confirm the Gazette text, we say so on the page rather than guess; the fertiliser tool carries one such note today.

How we check every line

Putting a specification online is a responsibility. A neat table looks authoritative even when one digit is wrong. So we hold ourselves to a few rules.

• Two independent readings for the fertiliser tool. Every specification was transcribed twice, by readers working separately, and the two readings were compared line by line. Where they differed, the printed page decided.
• Two readings for the biostimulant list too. The list was compiled notification by notification from the Gazette. In October 2026 every line of all 227 entries was read twice, independently, from the complete, consolidated Order and compared with our list. That check found one entry missing, which we added, and led us to correct 48 entries, for example a lost power of ten, a "±" printed as "+" or a dose table run together. Where the consolidated Order and the notification text we hold disagree, the page says so.
• Every entry tied to its notification. Each page shows the S.O. number and date that inserted, replaced or changed it, so you can go to the source yourself.
• Errors flagged, not hidden. Where the printed text has an evident slip, such as a chemical formula printed as "(as K2O5)" where P2O5 is clearly meant, or a heavy-metal limit printed as a minimum, the page tells you, and asks you to check the Gazette.

These checks make the tools more reliable, but they do not change one fact: the Gazette text is authoritative. Our tools are references, not legal advice.

A four-step check before you print a label

1. Find the exact entry, not just the name. Check the form (powder, liquid or granules), the grade and, where two entries share a name, the serial number.
2. Read the history. Note the S.O. number and date that last inserted or replaced the entry, and check whether anything later has changed it.
3. Compare line by line. Match every parameter, every minimum and maximum and every unit on your label with the current entry. For biostimulants, match the crops and doses too, and see whether the entry requires a caution on the label; eight products do.
4. Confirm with the Gazette. For anything that will be printed, sold or submitted, read the notification itself.

It takes a few minutes. Compared with reprinting a batch of labels, or explaining a mismatch during an inspection, it is the cheapest compliance step there is.

Who these tools are for

A manufacturer or marketer checking a specification before the artwork goes to the printer. A dealer asked by a farmer which crops a biostimulant is notified for. A consultant comparing a client's document with the current entry. A student trying to understand how a product's specification has changed over time. These are the situations I had in mind when we built the tools. The common need is clarity: being able to find a product, understand what its entry says and know which notification to check.

Available now, and open to correction

Both tools are available now on our Downloads page. Our aim is transparency: the more people in the trade can see a specification and its source, the fewer avoidable mistakes reach a label, a dealer's shelf or a farmer's field.

If you find an entry that looks wrong, please tell us. Send the product name and the line you want us to check to uaskolhapur@gmail.com, or on WhatsApp to +91 91721 16788. We would rather correct a line quickly than leave it wrong.

New: the FCO label generator gives the front and back label of any product in these tools with your company's details, in the format the Order asks for (Rs. 49 + GST a label). For B2B enquiries, including our encapsulated mycorrhiza (VAM) technology and ready formulations, call +91 70384 48078.

I built these tools on a simple belief: when people can see a specification and its history, they ask better questions before a label goes to print. That is good for manufacturers and dealers and, in the end, for the farmers who rely on what the label says.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find FCO specifications for fertilisers in India?

NanoKheti's FCO fertiliser specifications tool covers 192 products: every fertiliser in Schedule I, Part A, the 11 biofertilisers of Schedule III, the organic fertilisers of Schedules IV and V, the nano fertilisers of Schedule VII and the organic carbon enhancers of Schedule VIII, as amended up to S.O. 4045(E) of 22 July 2026. Each page shows the notified values, the tolerance, the test method and the notification history.

Where can I find the FCO biostimulant list?

Our FCO biostimulant list covers all 227 biostimulants in Schedule VI, with the composition, specifications, crops and doses, test methods and notification history of each, covering notifications up to S.O. 1574(E) of 25 March 2026.

Why does the notification date of an FCO specification matter?

Because specifications change. For example, S.O. 876(E) of 16 February 2026 replaced the specification of Humic acid 1.5% (Granules): the current entry has four parameters, while labels printed earlier show six.

Which fertilisers were removed from the FCO in 2026?

S.O. 1814(E) of April 2026 omitted calcium ammonium nitrate (25% N), urea ammonium nitrate (32% N, liquid) and ammonium nitrate phosphate (23-23-0) from Schedule I.

Are NanoKheti's FCO tools legal advice?

No. They are reference tools: the Gazette text is authoritative, so check the notification before you label, license or buy a product.

Editor's note: NanoKheti's editor expanded the founder's draft at his request; every number and date was checked against our FCO data and the Order as amended up to 22 July 2026.