Balanced Use of Plant Nutrients

Abstract

The concept of balanced fertilization is very simple and was in fact developed more than 150 years ago. Application of balanced fertilization is the key in enhancing nutrient use efficiency of the applied plant nutrients for maintaining soil productivity. It ensures the application of fertilizers in optimum quantities and in right proportion through appropriate methods, which in turn results in sustenance of soil fertility and crop productivity. Balanced fertilization leads to building up soil health, while imbalanced fertilization leads to soil mining and its sickness. Only soil building leads to a sustainable land use system where most food grain production continues to come from the existing agricultural land. It is well documented that unbalanced availability of nutrients not only produces low and poor-quality yield, but can also lead to mining of soil nutrient reserves which results in short supply. Thus, to obtain higher fertilizer use efficiency, a certain balance among the various nutrients is very essential.