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Nutrient management is the act of controlling the amount, source, timing, and technique of nutrient application to maximize agricultural output while reducing nutrient losses that might result in nutrient (biosolid) application environmental issues. It entails evaluating the number of nutrients existing in the soil, calculating the number of nutrients required by the crop, accounting for all potential sources of nutrients, and then adding manures, composts, irrigation water, or inorganic fertilizers to fulfill the crop's nutritional requirements. It also employs site management strategies to improve or maintain soil quality, reducing the risk of erosion and nutrient movement into surface water or groundwater. Because it impacts nutrient retention and water flow through the soil, soil quality is an important part of nutrient management. In the shot on the right, biosolids are being sprayed to an agricultural field. Let’s discuss the topic in-depth along with some important questions.
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Key terms: Fertilizers, Vermicompost, NPK, Biosolids, Micro-nutrients, Macro-nutrients.
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What are Nutrients?
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Plant nutrients are substances that are necessary for plant development and reproduction and may be found in the soil (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), as well as in the air and water (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen). Additional nutrients must be provided when present Soil nutrients are insufficient to generate good crop yields. Commercial fertilizers or organic sources such as manure, compost, or biosolids are used to supply nutrients to the soil.
Nutrients supplied by air, water, and soil
Integrated Nutrients Management
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For crop production, integrated nutrient management combines the use of chemical fertilizers with organic resource materials such as organic manures, green manures, bi-fertilizers, and other organic decomposable resources. The core premise of it is to maintain soil fertility, increase agricultural output, and increase profitability by using fertilizers wisely and efficiently.
Integrated Nutrient Management Concepts
- In the soil, plant nutrients are kept.
- Plant nutrients, including those found in crop leftovers, organic manure, and household garbage
- Plant nutrients that have been purchased or received from sources other than the farm.
- Plant nutrient losses, such as those withdrawn from the field during crop harvest and lost to the soil by volatilization (ammonia and nitrogen oxide gases, as well as leaching) (nitrate, sulfate, etc.)
Importance of Nutrients Management
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- Plant nutrients can contaminate waterways, but nutrient management can help.
- It Enhances plant productivity.
- It Improves soil fertility.
- It Promotes carbon sequestration and inhibits the degradation of soil, water, ecosystem, and loss of nutrients from the soil.
- It Provides crops with a well-balanced diet.
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Manures
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Manure includes a lot of organic matter and provides the soil with a little number of nutrients. Manure is created when animal excrement and plant waste decompose. Manure adds nutrients and organic elements to the soil, improving its fertility. Most of the organic matter in manure aids in soil structure improvement. This entails enhancing the capacity of sandy soils to store water. Large amounts of organic matter in clayey soils aid drainage and prevent waterlogging. When we utilize manure, we use biological waste material, which helps to safeguard our environment from the overuse of fertilizers. Farm waste may also be recycled by using biological waste material.
Manure can be categorized into the following categories based on the type of biological material used:
- Vermicompost and compost: Composting is the decomposition of farm waste materials such as livestock excreta (cow dung, for example), vegetable waste, animal refuse, residential trash, sewage waste, straw, and eliminate plants in pits. Organic materials and nutrients abound in the compost. Earthworms are also used to expedite the breakdown of plant and animal waste, resulting in compost. This is referred to as vermicomposting.
- Green manure: Some plants, such as sun hemp or guar, are cultivated and then ploughed into the soil before the crop seeds are sown. As a result, these green plants become green manure, which serves to replenish the soil with nitrogen and phosphorus.
Fertilizers
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Fertilizers are plant nutrients that are manufactured commercially. Fertilizers are used to provide nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium to plants. They are used to promote healthy vegetative development (leaves, branches, and flowers) to produce healthy plants. Fertilizers have a role in high-cost farming's better yields. Fertilizers should be administered with care, considering the right dose, timing, and pre-and post-application procedures to ensure that they are completely used. Excessive irrigation, for example, might wash nutrients away, preventing them from being effectively absorbed by the plants. This surplus fertilizer subsequently pollutes the water supply.
Things to Remember
- Food is necessary for our development, growth, and well-being. Plants, like all living beings, require nutrients to survive. Water, air, sunshine, and soil are all sources of these nutrients.
- Carbon and oxygen come from the air, hydrogen comes from water, and the other thirteen nutrients come from the soil. Some of them are called macro-nutrients because they are required in high quantities. The remaining nutrients are called micro-nutrients because they are needed in little amounts by plants.
- Manures and fertilizers are used to compensate for a lack of plant nutrients and organic matter in the soil in crop fields. Manures and fertilizers are both important sources of nutrients for plants and are utilized in crop production.
- The "Big 3" major nutrients in fertilizers are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, or NPK. Each of these important nutrients has a distinct purpose in plant nutrition. Because plants require more nitrogen than any nutrient, nitrogen is regarded as the most important nutrient.
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Sample Questions
Ques: What is the significance of the organic matter in crop production? (2 marks)
Ans: Because of the following reasons, organic matter is critical for crop productivity.
- It gives crops the nutrients they need.
- It loosens the soil structure, allowing for proper root aeration.
- In clayey soil, it aids drainage and prevents waterlogging.
Ques: Why should beekeeping be done in a good pasture? (2 marks)
Ans: To make honey, bees require high-quality nectar. A good pasturage contains many flowers that bees may exploit to get high-quality nectar. This improves both the quality and number of the bees. If bees are restricted to only one type of bloom for nectar, the honey quality will be comparable in flavor and consistency. The majority of farmers manufacture honey from a single nectar source.
Ques: What are macro-nutrients and why are they referred to as such? (2 marks)
Ans: Macronutrients are vital components that plants consume in huge quantities. Plants require a variety of macronutrients for the following functions:
- As a protoplasmic ingredient
- Proteins include N, P, and S.
- The cell wall contains calcium.
- Chlorophyll has a lot of magnesium.
Ques: Is it possible to solve the problem of malnutrition and hunger just by expanding grain production? (2 marks)
Ans: No, increasing grain output only for warehouse storage will not alleviate the malnutrition and hunger problems. Food security is determined by both the availability and accessibility of food. Because agriculture is the primary source of income for most of our population, raising the salaries of agricultural workers is vital to battle hunger.
Ques: Explain the concept of a composite fish culture system. What is the most serious issue in fish farming? What are the methods for overcoming it? (3 marks)
Ans: Intensive fish farming may be accomplished by using composite fish culture systems. In such systems, both indigenous and imported fish species are utilized. In this arrangement, a single fishpond has a mix of five or six different fish species. These species were chosen so that they have a variety of eating patterns and don't compete for food with one another. As a result, all the food available in the pond is consumed.
Callas, for example, feed on the top of the pond, Rohus feed in the intermediate zone, Mrigals and Common Carps feed on the bottom, and Grass Carp eat on the weeds. These species can use all the food in the pond without competing with one another if they work together. The pond's fish production organically grows because of this.
One issue with such mixed fish farming is that many of these species only reproduce during the monsoon season. Even if fish seed is obtained in the wild, it may be contaminated with seed from other species. As a result, a key issue in fish farming is the scarcity of high-quality seeds. To address this issue, certain methods for breeding these fish in captivity have been devised.
Ques: Make a list of the criteria for choosing crops for mixed cropping. (3 marks)
Ans: Mixed cropping is used to reduce risk and provide insurance against crop failure due to extreme weather. The following are the primary factors for selecting crops for mixed cropping:
- Crop Duration: One crop should be lengthy in duration and the other should be short.
- Growth Habits: One of the crops should grow tall, while the other should grow short. Canopies for the component crops should be varied.
- Demand for Nutrients: One of the component crops should have a lower nutrient demand than the other.
- Root Pattern: One crop should have a deep root system, while the other should have a shallow root system.
- Water Needs: One of the component crops should have a lower water need than the other.
Ques: Describe the various irrigation systems used in India. (3 marks)
Ans: Depending on the types of water resources available, several irrigation techniques are used to deliver water to agricultural regions. Wells, canals, rivers, and tanks are examples of these.
- There are two sorts of wells: dug wells and tube wells. Water is retrieved from water-bearing strata in dug wells, whereas water is taken from deeper strata in tube wells. Pumps are used to raise water from these wells for agriculture.
- Canals are a type of irrigation system that is frequently intricate and large. Water is pumped into canals from one or more reservoirs or rivers. To irrigate farms, the main canal is split into branch canals with additional distributaries.
- River lift systems: In this method, water is taken straight from rivers and used to supplement irrigation in locations near rivers. This technology is utilized in places where reservoir discharge is insufficient or erratic, resulting in insufficient or irregular canal flow.
- Tanks are tiny storage reservoirs that capture and store runoff from limited catchment areas.
Ques: Make a list of the benefits of mixed farming. (3 marks)
Ans: The following are the primary benefits of mixed farming:
- Livestock produces farmyard manure, which is then reused on agricultural fields.
- Organic waste products such as straw, grain husks and chaffs, home kitchen waste, and so on are turned into human food by cattle, sheep, poultry, pigs, and other livestock, depending on the farmer's preference.
- It provides year-round work for all members of a family, so offering a secondary occupation without the need for specific labour.
- Income may be enhanced by using exact combinations in mixed farming, such as increasing the number of animals (as per the food/crop available) to boost milk output.
Ques: What makes animal husbandry so important? (2 marks)
Ans: The following are some of the reasons why animal husbandry is important:
- Milk output should be increased. It also boosts the production of milk-based goods such as butter and cheese.
- To enhance the consumption of extremely nutritious egg and meat products.
- To increase the number of fish produced.
Ques: What are the benefits of crop variety enhancement in agriculture? Describe the major variables that are used to promote variety. (3 marks)
Ans: As we all know, the key elements that influence crop output are weather conditions, soil quality, and water availability. Because weather circumstances such as drought and flooding are unpredictable, it's critical to have types that can thrive under these situations. Similarly, cultivars that are resistant to excessive soil salt have been produced. The following are some of the causes that crop variety enhancement is done for:
- High Yield: To improve the crop's output per acre.
- Improve Crop Product Quality: Crop product quality factors differ from crop to crop. As an example, Wheat baking quality, pulse protein quality, oilseed oil quality, and fruit and vegetable preservation quality are all crucial.
- Biotic and abiotic resistance: In a variety of settings, crop productivity can be harmed by biotic and abiotic pressures. As a result, cultivars that are resistant to these pressures can boost agricultural yields.
- Maturity Transition Duration: The more economical the variety is, the shorter the period of the crop from seeding to harvesting. It lowers agricultural production costs and allows farmers to cultivate various crops in a single year.
- Wider Adaptation: Developing cultivars with a wider range of adaptability aids in crop production stability under a variety of environmental situations. Furthermore, a single variable may be produced in a range of climates and locations.
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