Perspectives on fertiliser usage
Published: Sep 30, 2013
Although the farmers of Dibrugarh, Assam, as also the rest of the country, use fertilisers fairly regularly—an estimated annual depletion of 36 mt NPK occurs from the soil with replenishment through fertilisers being only 28 mt, leaving a net annual deficit of 8 mt which keeps accumulating year after year.
Abstract: With remarkable growth after the introduction of fertiliser responsive high yielding varieties of paddy and wheat in the mid 1960s, per hectare fertiliser consumption increased from 5 kg in 1965-66 to 141 kg in 2010-11. Government and industry made concerted efforts to promote balanced use of fertilisers by targeting to achieve the ideal nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) ratio of 4:2:1 at the national level. Balanced fertiliser usage was however, severely hit with the government’s decision to decontrol phosphatic and potassic fertiliser which distorted nutrient prices and aggravated imbalanced fertiliser use.
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The accumulation of salts in soil to the extent that plant growth is inhibited. This is a common problem when crops are irrigated in arid regions; much of the water evaporates and salts get accumulated in the soil.
Soil pH is an indication of the acidity or alkalinity of soil. Soil pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration. As the amount of hydrogen ions in the soil increases the soil pH decreases. From pH 7 to 0 the soil is increasingly more acidic and from pH 7 to 14 the soil is increasingly more alkaline or basic.
The reduction in pH of the soil brought about by removal of cations (mainly Ca2+ and Mg2+) by leaching or removal by the crop.
An environmental concern when it contributes to groundwater contamination. It refers to the loss of plant nutrients from soils caused by water percolating downwards.
Nitrification is an important step in the nitrogen cycle in soil. It is the process by which ammonia is converted to nitrites (NO2-) and then nitrates (NO3-). This process naturally occurs in the soil, where it is carried out by a specialised bacteria.
Organic manure obtained by biological breakdown of vegetable, animal and industrial wastes including straw.
Occurs in warm, semi-arid environments, usually under grassland vegetation. The horizon of the soil is enriched with calcium carbonate precipitated from water moving downward through the soil, or upward through capillary action.
Refers to nutrients required by plants in very small quantities. The 7 essential plant micronutrients are—boron, chlorine, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc.
The process of creating new plants vegetatively by root cutting or via seeds. Plant propagation can also refer to the artificial or natural dispersal of plants.
An increase in the rate of addition of nutrients, usually through fertiliser laden runoff, to water bodies, leading to an excessive multiplication of algae and other undesirable aquatic plant species.