Plant Demand Adapted Fertilization
in Organic and Precision Farming
D. L. N. Rao, P. Dey, and K. Sammi Reddy
Abstract The major agricultural challenges in the developing world are in ensuring
food and nutritional security, improving soil health and maintaining environmental
quality. Reduced usage of organics, imbalanced fertilizer use, inherent soil constraints
and emerging nutrient deficiencies are the major contributors of poor soil health. The
hotspots of N fertilizer application have shifted from the USA and Western Europe
in the 1960s to eastern Asia in the early 21st century thus bringing soil sustainability
concerns. Simultaneously, the interest in low external inputs or organic agriculture
has increased. This review presents some the important lessons learnt in precision
chemical fertilization and organic fertilization effects on productivity and soil health.
Both approaches provide solutions to ensure improved fertilizer use efficiency in the
short-term and maintain soil fertility in the long term. But organic farming generally
lacks the potential for a short-term on-the-go reaction especially with respect to
fertilizer application. It is argued that organo-mineral precision fertilization has the
advantages of nutrient supply in sufficient quantities, nutrient efficiency and soil
health improvement. Organo-mineral precision fertilization (OM-PF) requires long
term research on nutrient availability, crop yields, effects on soil biology and fertility.
Keywords Fertilizers · Nitrogen · Nutrient Management · Plant Nutrition · Soil
Health · Soil Testing · Sustainability
D. L. N. Rao (B) · P. Dey
ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, M.P., India
e-mail: dlnrao.icar@gmail.com
P. Dey
e-mail: pradipdey@yahoo.com
K. S. Reddy
ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India
e-mail: ksreddy_iiss39@yahoo.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
G. Benckiser (ed.), Soil and Recycling Management in the Anthropocene Era,
Environmental Science and Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51886-8_6
137
in Organic and Precision Farming
D. L. N. Rao, P. Dey, and K. Sammi Reddy
Abstract The major agricultural challenges in the developing world are in ensuring
food and nutritional security, improving soil health and maintaining environmental
quality. Reduced usage of organics, imbalanced fertilizer use, inherent soil constraints
and emerging nutrient deficiencies are the major contributors of poor soil health. The
hotspots of N fertilizer application have shifted from the USA and Western Europe
in the 1960s to eastern Asia in the early 21st century thus bringing soil sustainability
concerns. Simultaneously, the interest in low external inputs or organic agriculture
has increased. This review presents some the important lessons learnt in precision
chemical fertilization and organic fertilization effects on productivity and soil health.
Both approaches provide solutions to ensure improved fertilizer use efficiency in the
short-term and maintain soil fertility in the long term. But organic farming generally
lacks the potential for a short-term on-the-go reaction especially with respect to
fertilizer application. It is argued that organo-mineral precision fertilization has the
advantages of nutrient supply in sufficient quantities, nutrient efficiency and soil
health improvement. Organo-mineral precision fertilization (OM-PF) requires long
term research on nutrient availability, crop yields, effects on soil biology and fertility.
Keywords Fertilizers · Nitrogen · Nutrient Management · Plant Nutrition · Soil
Health · Soil Testing · Sustainability
D. L. N. Rao (B) · P. Dey
ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, M.P., India
e-mail: dlnrao.icar@gmail.com
P. Dey
e-mail: pradipdey@yahoo.com
K. S. Reddy
ICAR-Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad, India
e-mail: ksreddy_iiss39@yahoo.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
G. Benckiser (ed.), Soil and Recycling Management in the Anthropocene Era,
Environmental Science and Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51886-8_6
137