INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT Integrated nutrient management (INM) is an approach that involves the management of both organic and

inorganic plant nutrients for optimal production of cultivated crops, forage, and tree species, while conserving the natural resource base essential for long-term sustainability. Nutrient flows occur at different scales in any agro ecosystem, and soil nutrient budgets for a given area and time can be calculated by the difference between the nutrient inputs and outputs (figure 4.3). Large soil nutrient surpluses can lead to environmental pollution, whereas persistent soil nutrient deficits usually indicate nutrient mining.

India is the third largest producer and consumer of fertilizers in the world after China and the USA, and contributes about 11.4 and 11.9 per cent to the total world production/consumption of NPK nutrients respectively. However, in terms of consumption per hectare, the consumption in India (104.5 kg per hectare) is lower than neighbouring countries, showing scope of further increase. The consumption of chemical fertilizers in India by and large was stagnant from 200102 to 2003-04. However, it has increased during the last two years; consumption during 2005-06 was 203.40 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of NPK nutrients which is the highest ever achieved. The consumption of fertilizers during Kharif 2006 is estimated to be 100.10 LMT of NPK nutrients, which constitutes an increase of approximately 9 per cent over Kharif 2005. The consumption during 2006-07 (both Kharif and Rabi) is likely to be more than 220 LMT. However, the fertilizer consumption in India is very skewed with wide interstate, inter-district and inter-crop

variations, though the NPK ratio, which is an indicator of balanced use of chemical fertilizers, has improved to 5.3:2.2:1 during 2005-06, against 5.7:2.2:1 during the preceding year. To ensure the adequate availability of fertilizers to farmers, the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation makes a demand assessment well in advance through halfyearly input zonal conferences in consultation with the State Governments and the fertilizer industry. Thereafter, the Essential Commodities Act (ECA) Supply Plan and orders are issued under the Fertilizer Movement Control Order for indigenous and imported urea by the Department of Fertilizers to ensure its timely availability. Fertilizer Prices: All chemical fertilizers except urea continued to be decontrolled. The Government of India continues to provide a subsidy to the manufacturers of urea to enable its availability to farmers at reasonable prices. Further, in order to make available decontrolled Phosphatic (P) and Potassic (K) fertilizers at reasonable prices, the government has been implementing a scheme of concession on sales of these fertilizers Buffering Stocking of P and K Fertilizers: To ensure the adequate availability of decontrolled fertilizers in remote and inaccessible areas, a buffer stock of limited quantities of DAP and MOP is being maintained at strategic locations to meet the emergent requirements of states.

Promotion of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM): Some major initiatives that have been taken to promote the balanced and integrated use of fertilizers are enumerated below:

The Government is promoting the soil test-based balanced and judicious use of chemical fertilizers, bio-fertilizers and locally available organic manures like farmyard manure, compost, nadep compost, vermi compost, green manure and press mud etc., to maintain soil health and its productivity. The Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Balanced and Integrated Use of Fertilizers, since subsumed under the Macro Management of Agriculture Scheme, provides for the promotion of soil test-based application of chemical fertilizers, strengthening of soil testing facilities in the country and setting up of compost plants for conversion of biodegradable city waste into organic manure. At present, there are 609 soil-testing laboratories in India. These include 487 static and 122 mobile laboratories under the State Governments and the fertilizer industry with an annual

analyzing capacity of 6.7 million soil samples. Under the scheme, soil health cards are being issued by the State Governments to the farmers for advising them on the use of correct and balanced use of fertilizers for maximum efficiency and profitability.

Effective INM involves four interrelated strategies: Conservation and efficient use of native soil nutrients. Conservation practices help to reduce loss of nutrients from agro ecosystems due to surface water flows and from erosion of soil by wind and water. Vegetative barriers minimize off-farm transport of dissolved nutrients, dust, and sediments, and deep-rooted plants act as nutrient safety nets, intercepting leached nutrients from the root zone and returning them to the soil surface via litter fall, mulch, or as green manure. In general, conserving existing nutrient resources is easier and cheaper than replenishing and rehabilitating degraded resources. Recycling of organic nutrient flows. Returning crop residues and/or animal manure to cropland is important for system sustainability. Composting crop residues and animal manures enhances the utilization efficiency of easily lost nutrients such as nitrogen. Converting linear flows (lost from the system) of organic nutrients to cyclical flows (returned to the system) can reduce the need for external nutrient inputs. There are related potential price benefits in organic product markets. Livestock are important for processing crop residues, adding value to farm outputs, improving labor efficiency, and providing manure. Enhancing biological nitrogen fixation and soil biological activity. Nitrogen-fixing crop, forage, and tree/shrub species scavenge nitrogen from the soil and/or fix nitrogen from the atmosphere when soil levels are below plant requirements. Most nitrogenfixing plant species also form symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi that improve soil aggregation, nutrient and water use efficiencies, and protect the plant roots from a variety of pathogens. This is one example of an INM practice that also contributes to IPM. Integration of nitrogen-fixing species into cropping systems diversifies inputs/outputs and reduces risk on both economic and ecological fronts.

Addition of plant nutrients. The nutrient content of highly weathered soils is very low. In most cases, the export of nutrients in harvested products results in one or more plant nutrients becoming limiting. In the humid tropics, calcium and phosphorus are often limiting for crop growth and productivity. Appropriate amounts of lime and nutrients are essential to optimize plant root growth, enhance the efficiency of added nutrients, and avoid soil degradation (box 4.33). Although inorganic fertilizers such as limestone and rock phosphate are consistent with organic agriculture, inorganic fertilizers are often the most efficient means of adding soil nutrients. In many places (such as Africa) they are essential for improving productivity to levels that will then enable adoption of wider INM practices. In the past, the cost of soil and crop sampling and nutrient analyses made site-specific fertilizer recommendations prohibitively expensive for most agricultural programs. Blanket fertilizer recommendations were common, but blanket application of fertilizers is often uneconomic and can lead to pollution. Recent advances in plant nutrient decision support models, improved access to high-resolution satellite images, and the improved interpretation of crop and soil spectral signatures make site-specific recommendations possible. INM Strategy Strategies to manage soil organic matter Vermicompost Composting In-situ generation of green matter Organic inputs for nutrient management Agricultural residues Sericultural residues Animal manures Dairy and poultry wastes Food industry wastes Municipal solid wastes Biogas-sludges from sugarcane factories

Biological Inputs for Nutrient Management: BNF Management Practices to improve plant growth and BNF in soil Use high nitrogen-fixing crops/varieties Practice mixed and intercropping (row and strip) with legumes Use appropriate tillage practices, landform treatments and nutrient amendments Inoculation with efficient inoculants

Mineral fertilizers: Use appropriate mineral fertilizers based on soil analysis as INM component Form or type as recommended for the crop Method furrow placement and covering with soil instead of broadcasting Time split N doses instead of one application Quantity just sufficient to meet plant demand without adversely affecting biological nitrogen fixation Recommendations for practitioners: Undertake detailed soil analysis to identify soil fertility constraints limiting crop production Develop suitable nutrient management recommendations from soil analysis results and share knowledge with the farmers and stress the need for adopting INM strategy to maintain fertility and productivity Use participatory research and development (PR&D) approach Optimize and harness full potential of available biological and organic sources and use chemical fertilizers only to supplement the gap in the nutrient requirements of the production system Adopt holistic rather than compartmental approach for sustainable Development.

Policy and Financial Incentives: Enabling policies and incentive mechanisms for greater adoption of INM practices. Timely availability of quality products and knowledge on quality products and sustainable INM practices to the farmers, by establishing appropriate institutions. Enabling policies and mechanisms to produce, distribute and use various sources of different plant nutrients.

Integrated nutrient management in horticultural crops Balanced fertilization for sustainable yield and quality in tropical fruit crops indicated that fruit production in India is hardly sufficient and meets only 46 per cent of national demand. Hence, there is a strong need to increase the production and productivity of fruit crops and judicious nutrient management is regarded as key to achieving these goals. The author presented TNAU fertilizers recommendation for mango, banana, citruses, papaya, pineapple and sapota. It has been noted that fruit plants generally need higher amount of K followed by N and P. The importance of K-fertilization for improving fruit weight, fruit number and fruit yield per plant was demonstrated in detail for papaya. K-fertilizer use improved also major quality parameters of papaya fruits such as sweetness, latex yield and its quality. The enzyme activity of latex, as assessed in terms of tyrosine units produced by papain, revealed the positive effect of potassium. The results presented indicate that yield and quality parameters of fruit crops depend on the method of fertilizer application. When compared to conventional methods, fertigation proved to be the most efficient method of fertilizer application to fruit crops. Integrated nutrient management for sustainable yield of major vegetable crops in Bangladesh The production of vegetables in Bangladesh is inadequate and, to meet the growing demand, the production has to be increased by at least eight times (up to 11 million tons) by 2015. However, a gradual increase in cropping intensity with imbalanced fertilization depletes soil fertility in Bangladesh. Thus, BARI recommends the INM package formulated with mineral fertilizers (5075 per cent from earlier recommendations developed for mineral fertilizers alone) and also organic manures. As a result, higher yields of tomato, cabbage, broccoli, okra as well as higher production of homestead vegetable cropping patterns (radishtomato- red amaranth-Indian spinach, tomato-okra-Indian spinach) are obtained compared to the same levels of nutrients supplied in the form of mineral fertilizers alone. Compared to cow dung, poultry manure appeared as the best organic manure regarding yield sustainability and regeneration of soil fertility. BNF