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Site-Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM): A Unique Approach Towards Maintaining Soil Health

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Adaptive Soil Management : From Theory to Practices

Abstract

Agricultural production in India has increased from ~50 Mt in 1950 to ~251 Mt in 2011–2012 by the intensive use of external inputs. The negative nutrient balance due to the imbalanced fertilization to the tune of ~8–10 Mt is reported, resulting in nutrient mining, stagnation and/or deceleration in productivity and soil health decline. The indispensable role of geo-informatics (RS, GPS and GIS) aided site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) for efficient use of resources and nutrients is suggested for achieving the projected food production target ~300 Mt by 2025. Towards the better response of SSNM over blanket fertilizer recommendation in terms of nutrient use efficiency (NUE), productivity and profitability is reported and discussed under Indian context. Long-term pooled data across several locations in India revealed an increase in yield of rice and wheat crops by ~12 and 17% and profitability by ~14 and 13%, respectively as an outcome of SSNM. Web based farmers’ advisory launched recently in the state of West Bengal is reported. The development of such dissemination mechanisms that consolidates the complex and knowledge-intensive SSNM information into simple delivery system is suggested for rapid implementation by the farmers towards maintaining soil health and ensuring future generation food security.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the editors and anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments, which helped us to improve the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Amravati Road, Nagpur, 440 033, India

    Dipak Sarkar

  2. ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan, Almora, 263 601, Uttarakhand, India

    Vijay Singh Meena

  3. ICAR-NBSS&LUP, Salt Lake City, D.K. Block, Sector-II, Bidhan Nagar, Kolkata, 700 091, WB, India

    Abhijit Haldar

  4. Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agricultural Science, BHU, Varanasi, 221005, UP, India

    Amitava Rakshit

Authors
  1. Dipak Sarkar
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  2. Vijay Singh Meena
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  3. Abhijit Haldar
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  4. Amitava Rakshit
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amitava Rakshit .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agricultural Science, BHU, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Amitava Rakshit

  2. Institute of Environmental and Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Purushothaman Chirakuzhyil Abhilash

  3. Department of Mycology and Plant Pathology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

    Harikesh Bahadur Singh

  4. Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (Research), National Parks Board, Singapore, Singapore

    Subhadip Ghosh

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Sarkar, D., Meena, V.S., Haldar, A., Rakshit, A. (2017). Site-Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM): A Unique Approach Towards Maintaining Soil Health. In: Rakshit, A., Abhilash, P., Singh, H., Ghosh, S. (eds) Adaptive Soil Management : From Theory to Practices. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3638-5_3

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