Description

PREFACE

The need for plant nutrients is well-recognized for the efficient and integrated use of mineral fertilizers and other sources of plant nutrients, like organic materials, biologically fixed atmospheric nitrogen, etc., In order to achieve self-sufficiency in food production in developing countries.

Soils feed the plants which in turn feed the animals that feed us. Including soil in this important chain will help guarantee its success. Soil provides the foundation for plants and most of the nutrients. So what are made available to plant at a certain time may not be exactly, needed nutrients. A nutrient rich soil is not necessarily a productive. To be productive, soil must also provide a satisfactory environment for plant growth and the nutrients it contains must be available for use by the plants.

To meet the food grain requirements of the year 2050, intensification of agriculture in developing countries as a group will require a three – to four-fold increase in fertilizer use coupled with the increased use of better seeds, pest control and improved water management. These global objectives will have to be implemented at national and regional levels, taking account of available resources.

The importance of soil fertility management for sustainable  agriculture has been widely recognized. Soil is the reservoir nutrients and half of the elements in the periodic table are being taken from the soil by the plants but of these, only seventeen elements are essential. Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, along with sulphur, calcium, and magnesium, are called macronutrients because plants need these in relatively large amounts. Plants also need micronutrients such as boron, copper, manganese, molybdenum, nickel and zinc to remain healthy. There is increasing trend of nutrient imbalance in the soil; evident from the fact the amount of nutrient removed from the soil is more than the quantity added in the soil. This nutrient imbalance is called nutrient mining and nutrient mining resulted in poor soil health. Sound nutrient management is prerequisite for enhancement & maintenance of soil productivity, and sustainability of agriculture. The doubling of global food demand projected for the next 50 years poses a challenge for sustainability of agriculture especially in the context of food production and safe guarding the environment. Nutrient management is an essential part of sustainable agriculture.

The present world fertilizer strategy is to increase agricultural production through the efficient use of mineral fertilizers and other inputs and through improved farming methods. Apart from increased availability of food grains, more efficient fertilizer use would also contribute to conservation of energy. Estimates show that one kilogram of nitrogen fertilizer needs about two kilograms of fossil fuel for its manufacture, packing, transport and application. The corresponding needs for phosphorus (P₂O₅) and potash (K₂O) are 0.33 and 0.21 kg respectively.

Nutrients are constantly being removed from the soil. They can be lost by plant uptake, leaching through the soil profile, and erosion. In some cases, many of the these elements may already be present but are tied up by soil particles, making them unavailable to plants.

The required content of your fertilizer and your application rates will vary according to what type of soil you have, what nutrients are already present in your soil, what crop you are growing, and what purpose the fertilizer is to serve (i.e. fertilize an established pasture or start a new seeding). Different soil types have different qualities; which nutrients are naturally present is one of those qualities. Some soil types may be naturally high in one element but low in another. A soil test can help to determine the fertility state of your soils.

It should be stressed that a fertile soil is not necessarily a productive soil. Soil productivity depends on a number of factors, fertility being just one, others include: soil moisture, pH, sunlight, soil physical properties, slope, etc. However, fertility is one of the easier and more practical factors for us to mange and should be considered an important part of land improvement.

Many scholars, teachers, students, extension workers have expressed concern at the lack of a single, handy reference source which treated all aspects of plant nutrition and fertilizer use in relatively simple language, to meet the requirements of a wide range of users.

This book is the collection of literature from various sources. We greatly thank the contributors of various sources from whom material has been gathered. It is hoped that this book will fill long felt for such a publication. Suggestions for possible improvements and additions for a future version of the Book will be most welcome.

AUTHOR

 

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

We’ve already learned that much of the world’s soils are becoming less fertile. But what exactly does soil fertility mean? Some define soil fertility simply as the capacity of the soil to supply nutrients to the plant. Using the definition, a fertile soil one that contains an adequate supply of all the nutrients required for the successful production of plant life.

Fertilization is an important issue because it is needed in order to produce enough food for the increasing population from the decreasing cultivated land, but too much or inappropriate use can be detrimental to the environment.

A productive soil should contain all the essential plant nutrients in sufficient quantity and in balanced proportions. The nutrients must also be present in an available form before plants can use them. Inadequacy of any one of these elements will inhibit plants from growing to their full potential.

This principle is probably best summed by the “Law of the Minimum” Propounded by Justus von Liebig in themed-1800’s This law states that if one of the nutritive elements is deficient or lacking, plant growth will be  poor even when all the other elements are abundant. Any deficiency of a nutrient, no matter how small an amount is needed, will hold back plant development. If the deficient element is supplied growth will be increased up to the point where the supply of the element is no longer the limiting factor. Increasing the supply beyond this point is not helpful, as some other element would then be in a minimum supply and become the limiting factor.

No course on soil fertility management would be complete without some discussion of the fundamental reason why we are so interested in managing soil fertility – providing adequate nutrition for plants. It is very important to understand the basic nutritional needs of plants before going on to discuss the best ways to provide these requirements.

This book has been designed to meet the basic requirement of the course recommended by the 6^th Dean’s committee of ICAR. The book covers the whole syllabus in 26 chapters.

 

CONTENTS

S. No.	Title	Page
Preface		3-4
About the Book		6
About the Authors		6
CHAPTER
	History of Soil Fertility & Plant Nutrition	7-8
	Criteria of Essentiality of Plant Nutrients	9-20
	Mechanism of Nutrient Transport to Plants	21-31
	Factors Affecting Nutrient Availability to Plants	32-36
	Chemistry of Macro & Micronutrients	37-49
	Soil Fertility Evealuation	50-70
	Introduction and Importance of Manures & Fertilisers	71-73
	Fertiliser Recommendation Approaches	74-76
	Integrated Nutrient Management	77-87
	Classification of Chemical Fertilisers	88-94
	Complex Fertilisers	95-96
	Customised Fertilisers	97-100
	Water Soluble Fertilisers (WSFs)	101-104
	Nano-Fertilisers	105-116
	Soil Amendments	117-123
	Fertiliser Storage	124-130
	Fertiliser  Control Order	131-139
	Methods of Fertilizers Recommendations to Crops	140-156
	Nutrient Use Efficiency	157-163
	Methods of Fertiliser Application Under Rainfed & Irrigated Conditions	164-176
	Carbon Sequestration & Carbon Trading	177-179
	Carbon Trading	180-183
	Preparation & Properties of Major Manures	184-206
	Soil Test Crop Response (STCR)	207-209
	Real Time Nitrogen Management (RTNM)	210-221
	Integrated Plant Nutrition System (IONS)	222-231
Literature Cited		232

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. LAXMI LAL Somani, Retired Director Resident Instructions, MPUAT, Udaipur has many papers published in national and International Journals/ Symposia, etc. and many number of books to his credit in different disciplines of agriculture. He held different position in MPUAT and has spreaded highly innovative ideas and programmes for the development of agriculture.