Comparative study shows that the functional relationship between inorganic nitrogen application and rice yield is strikingly different in the United States as compared to India. As a result, the optimal level of fertilizer application and the financial returns to use of fertilizer are much lower under Indian conditions than American conditions. Since extensive enquiry suggests that this contrast is due to differences in the research input, it indicates the efficacy of substantial research effort in India in the biological sciences if fertilizer is to provide the basis for a substantial and continuous rate of growth of production.