NUTRIENTS FEED THE WORLD

Renuka Kholkute

Introduction

Agricultural sustainability is becoming essential factor in farming practices. Production of more food and energy with minimum pollution is one of the most important challenges of this era. By 2050, the global population is projected to be nine billion, resulting in a near-doubling of global food and fiber demand. For feeding an increasing world population, nutrients, especially nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are essential components of crop and animal husbandry. It is estimated that nitrogen and other mineral fertil-izer is essential to feed around half of the world’s population, and will be fundamental to ensure global food security through the 21st century.

Increasing human population and rising per capita meat and dairy consumption as a result of increas-ing in-comes are together causing a rapid increase in nutrient consumption in transitional and develop-ing countries. Previously, the importance was on im-proving potential yield; but today, there is increased emphasis on improving the nutritional value of foods (e.g., protein content in grain, essential amino acids, content of other minerals, etc.). Long term food se-curity requires a balance between increasing crop production, maintaining soil health along with the environmental sustainability.

In India, nutrient management has played a major role in accomplishing the enormous increase in food grain pro-

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duction from 52 million tons in 1951-52 to 252 million tons dur-ing 2011-12. According to FAO, India’s foodgrains requirement to feed the estimated population of

1400 million by 2025 will be 300 million tonnes.

The country will require about 45 million tonnes of nutrients (30 million tonnes for foodgrains and 15 million tonnes of nutrients for other crops) from vari-ous sources of plant nutrients, i.e. fertilizers, organic manures and biofertilizers. The further increase in crop production will have to come from an increase in yields as there is limited scope for increasing cul-

tivated area. Fertilizer use will remain a key to the future development of agriculture (FAO, 2005).

Application of imbalanced and/or excessive nutri-ents led to declining nutrient-use efficiency making fertilizer consumption uneconomical and producing adverse effects on atmosphere and groundwater qual-ity causing health hazards and climate change.

To achieve the higher productivity needed to meet current and future food demand, it is imperative to ensure their availability in soils and to apply a bal-anced amount of nutrients from organic sources and from mineral fertilizers.

The main aim of sustainable agriculture is success-ful management of resources, satisfy the changing human needs, maintain or enhance the quality of en-vironment and conserve natural resources. Integrat-ed nutrient management (INM) is an integral part of

sustainable agriculture which requires the manage-ment of resources in a way to fulfill the changing human needs without deteriorating the quality of environment and conserving vital natural resources.

What is Integrated Nutrient Management?

Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) refers to the maintenance of soil fertility and of plant nutri-ent supply at an optimum level for sustaining the de-sired productivity through optimization of the ben-efits from all possible sources of organic (farm yard manures, poultry manures, crop residues, green ma-nures), inorganic and biological (biofertilizers etc.) components in an integrated manner.

INM involves the maintenance of soil fertility to an optimum level for better crop productivity and to obtain the maximum benefit from all possible sources of plant nutrients (organic as well as in-organic) in an integrated manner. It is an essential step to address the twin concerns of nutrient ex-cess and nutrient depletion. INM is also important for marginal farmers who cannot afford to supply crop nutrients through costly chemical fertilizers. Integrated Nutrient Management aims to optimize the condition of the soil, with regard to its physi-cal, chemical, biological and hydrological proper-ties. There is now greater awareness that INM can, not only provide tangible benefits in terms of higher yields, but simultaneously and almost imperceptibly conserve the soil resource itself. Use of farmyard manures, natural and mineral fertilizers, soil amend-ments, crop residues and farm wastes, agroforestry and tillage practices, green manures, cover crops, legumes, intercropping, crop rotations, fallows are some of the effective components of INM.

Role of Good agricultural practices in nutrient management

Success of INM depends on soil, nutrient, water, crop, and vegetation management practices, tailored to a particular cropping and farming system. Stressed crops are more susceptible to disease and to the ef-fects of pest attacks. Crops growing in poorly struc-tured soil, under low or unbalanced nutrient condi-tions or with inadequate water supply or retention will be stressed. Responding to disease or pest attacks by applying pesticides is a costly symptomatic approach to a syndrome which is better addressed by improving the ecological conditions and systems within which the crops are cultivated. In addition, agricultural products with less pesticides residues are less risky to consume, and healthy plants with a properly balanced nutrient supply provide better quality feed and food, improv-ing animal and human health.

Promotion of Integrated Nutrient Management

In India, continuous cropping without adequate nu-trient supply, erosion of top fertile soil and cropping on marginal lands are some of the main causes for declining soil fertility in farmlands. For example, in North Eastern Himalayan Region (NEHR), the jhum land’s soil fertility status has become depleted after years of exploitation with no addition of manures and inadequate management practices.

The Indian Government is promoting soil test-based balanced and judicious use of chemical fertilizers, biofertilizers and locally available organic manures like farmyard manure, compost, nadep compost, ver-mi compost and green manure to maintain soil health and its productivity. A Centrally Sponsored Scheme, “National Project on Management of Soil Health and Fertility” (NPMSF) has been approved during 2008-09 with an outlay of Rs.429.85 crores for the remain-ing period of XI Plan.

The two existing schemes namely:

i) Centrally sponsored scheme of “Balanced and In-

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tegrated Use of Fertilizers” and

ii) Central Sector Scheme “Strengthening of Cen-tral Fertilizer and Quality Control & Training Insti tutes and its Regional Labs have been subsumed in the new scheme w.e.f. 1.4.2009.

The components of the new scheme include setting up of 500 new soil testing laboratories, strengthening of the existing 315 soil testing laboratories, setting up of 250 mobile soil testing laboratories, promotion of organic manures, soil amendments and distribu-tion of micro nutrients, setting up of 20 new fertil-izers quality control laboratories and strengthening of 63 existing fertilizer quality control laboratories during 11th Plan.

INM and Advanced Technologies

Use of new research tools like Remote Sensing technologies and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) would be the solution for providing food se-curity to world population without affecting the agro-ecological balance. Recently, there have been enormous advances in agricultural production, not only improving productivity, but just as importantly, safeguarding the environment.

Regional Remote Sensing Centre, South, located at Bengaluru, India

Several systems-research tools relating to informa-tion technology have become available for fertilizer management. Farmers can now refine nutrient rec-ommendation and water management models to the site-specific conditions of each field with the help of

geographic information systems (GIS), global po-sitioning systems (GPS) and remote sensing (RS). These promising technologies would contribute to increased agricultural productivity and transforma-tion of agribusiness infrastructure. Remote sensing and GIS technology are being effectively utilized in India in several areas for sustainable agricultural de-velopment and management.

Conclusion

Integrated nutrient management can address many of the problems besetting poor, small holder farmers. But INM’s success ultimately depends upon the time-ly and determined efforts of extension programs, gov-ernment, NGOs, researchers, and the farmers them-selves. These efforts include soil testing for nutrient depletion, cooperation between farmers and research-ers, promotion of more productive use of organic nu-trients, and encouragement of extension services and NGOs to pay attention to enhance soil fertility.

Integrated nutrient management with proper use of chemical fertilizers, organic manures and biofer-tilizers would improve nutrient use efficiency, soil health, crop yields and profitability. Supportive pol-icy environment, additional provision of advanced soil testing laboratories and new technology initia-tives through R and D in the country would facilitate objective of achieving better soil health. The Golden balance between productivity, profitability, sustain-ability and eco-friendliness will be the key for main-taining better soil health and getting maximum crop yields in near future.

References

1.http://www.archive.india.gov.in/sectors/agriculture/index.php?id=11

2.http://www.ifdc.org/Training/2014-Training-Programs-%281%29/Technology-Advances-Agricul-tural-Production/

3.http://www.fao.org

4.http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ag120e/AG120E07.gif

5.http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ag120e/AG120E09.htm

6.http://www.icrisat.org/what-we-do/agro-ecosystems/CA_Watersheds/CAWorkshop-INM-SPW-23-27July07.pdf

7.http://e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=education.Science_and_Technology.Integrated_nutri-ent_management_and_sustainable_agriculture_in_North_East

8.http://www.initrogen.org/sites/default/files/documents/files/ONW.pdf

9.http://www.agritech.tnau.ac.in/agriculture/agri_nutrientmgt_integrntrientmgt.html

10. Renuka Kholkute (2014). Soil Health and Role Of Fertilizers: An Indian Outlook. Arab Fertilizer Magazine, Cairo, Egypt. Issue 68, January-April 2014. Page 38-41.

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