Top Trends in Crop Nutrition

Restoration of Soil Biomass

Government bodies including local, regional and global across the various regions are emphasizing on restoration and enrichment of the soil biomass level to achieve sustainability in agriculture. This is supporting the growth of biological crop nutrition products. The improved management of crop nutrition can enhance the bio-availability of macro and micro nutrients in crops and grains. It is a prerequisite for satisfactory crop growth and optimum quantity and quality yields.

In addition to water, sunlight and favourable soil conditions, essential nutrients are crucial to optimize crop production and improve the plants’ resilience to climate change. There is a clear need to increase the resilience of current food production system on less fertile soils and in areas most affected by climate change, high temperatures, low rainfall and soil salinity.

Nuclear and Isotopic Techniques

Isotopes of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus allow the estimation of the amount of alternative source of inorganic nitrogen fixed and added to the soil by legumes, the amount of carbon fixed by plants and sequestered in soils. They also help to trace the movement of applied organic and inorganic fertilizers from the soil to the crop and the environment, evaluate and identify crop genotypes tolerant to drought and salinity and access phosphorus dynamics in the plant soil continuum to improve phosphorus management in agro ecosystems. Isotopes of zinc, iron and other micro nutrients are used to measure the dynamics of micro-nutrients in soil and crops.

Challenges in Crop Nutrition

Gap between Basic and Applied Science

Large parts of the society, from farmers to policy makers expect crop nutritionists to develop concepts that allow further enhancements in crop yield and quality while increasing nutrient efficiency and reducing nutrient losses from crop production systems. The crop nutrition community certainly faces the challenge in bridging the gap between basic and applied science and building an integrated community that tackles this challenge in a common effort.

Agrochemical Challenges

There are many Agrochemical challenges that are severely affecting the crop nutrition. Agrochemical challenges are lack of basic information, inadequate sampling and scouting procedures, absence of site specific fertilizer recommendations, misuse of information and lack of qualified agronomic services. There are multiple technological barriers that relate to machinery, sensor, GPS, software and remote sensing. However, these barriers will be progressively lifted and crop nutrition will be a significant component of the agricultural system of the future.

The Way Forward

Increasing research and development initiatives by government authorities and private bodies across the globe will support the expansion of the crop nutrition quality scenario in the upcoming years. Technological advancements may further enhance the efficiency of fertilizer nutrients use in terms of plant absorption, application method, formulations of fertilizers and others. Many multinational are aiming towards establishing a stronghold in the crop nutrition market through acquisitions, distribution agreements, research collaborations, new product launches, in licensing of technology and products.