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Plant nutrition in the 20th and perspectives for the 21st century

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Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Food Production and Environment

Part of the book series: Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences ((DPSS,volume 78))

Abstract

This paper briefly presents the knowledge of plant nutrition in 1900 and its expansion since then in two areas — the discovery of the micronutrients and the absorption of nutrients from soils.

Application of macro- and micronutrient fertilizers has contributed substantially to the huge increase in world food production experienced this century. In developed countries, excessive fertilizer use has led to serious problems of nutrient pollution; here, plant nutritionists will be concerned with monitoring nutrient status of crops and soils to maintain crop production with minimum loss of nutrients to the environment, and development of cultivars with high nutrient efficiency in soils with luxury supplies of nutrients.

In many developing countries, soil infertility limits productivity; here, plant nutritional research can raise productivity by diagnosis of nutrient deficiencies and toxicities of crops on previously unfertilized soils, their correction with minimal fertilizer and treatment costs, and development of cultivars with high nutrient efficiency in deficient soils and high tolerance of natural toxicities.

The pre-occupation of developed countries with pollution is blinding them to the urgent needs of developing countries for fertilizers and fertilizer research to increase crop production ha1 as an alternative to clearing more land.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Murdoch University, Perth, W.A., 6150, Australia

    Jack F. Loneragan

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  1. Jack F. Loneragan
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hiroshima University, Higashi Hiroshima, Japan

    Tadao Ando  & Kounosuke Fujita  & 

  2. Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

    Tadahiko Mae

  3. Okayama University, Kurashiki, Japan

    Hideaki Matsumoto

  4. University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Satoshi Mori

  5. Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Jiro Sekiya

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Loneragan, J.F. (1997). Plant nutrition in the 20th and perspectives for the 21st century. In: Ando, T., Fujita, K., Mae, T., Matsumoto, H., Mori, S., Sekiya, J. (eds) Plant Nutrition for Sustainable Food Production and Environment. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 78. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0047-9_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0047-9_1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-6510-8

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