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Site Specific Nutrient Management
Background
Existing
fertilizer recommendations for rice often consist of one
predetermined rate of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium
(K) for vast areas of rice production. Such recommendations assume
that the need of a rice crop for nutrients is constant over time and
over large areas. But the growth and needs of a rice crop for
supplemental nutrients can vary greatly among fields, seasons, and
years as a result of differences in crop-growing conditions, crop
and soil management, and climate. Hence, the management of nutrients
for rice requires a new approach, which enables adjustments in
applying N, P, and K to accommodate the field-specific needs of the
rice crop for supplemental nutrients.
What is the site-specific nutrient management approach?
The site-specific
nutrient management (SSNM) approach was developed in Asian
rice-producing countries through partnerships of the Irrigated Rice
Research Consortium (IRRC). It emphasizes ‘feeding’ rice with
nutrients as and when needed. SSNM strives to enable farmers to
dynamically adjust fertilizer use to optimally fill the deficit
between the nutrient needs of a high-yielding crop and the nutrient
supply from naturally occurring indigenous sources such as soil,
organic amendments, crop residues, manures, and irrigation water.
The SSNM approach does not specifically aim to either reduce or
increase fertilizer use. Instead, it aims to apply nutrients at
optimal rates and times to achieve high yield and high efficiency of
nutrient use by the rice crop, leading to high cash value of the
harvest per unit of fertilizer invested.
The SSNM
approach can be described in three basic
steps.
>> SSNM in
3 steps |
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