A crop nutrient management plan is a tool that farmers can use to increase the efficiency of all the nutrient sources a crop uses while reducing production and environmental risk, ultimately increasing profit

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What are nutrients?

The key principle behind nutrient management is balancing soil nutrient inputs with crop requirements

Plant nutrients are elements that are essential for plant growth and reproduction that are available in the soil (e.g. nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium), or from air or water (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen). When existing soil nutrients cannot produce good crop yields, additional nutrients must be added. Nutrients are added to the soil from commercial fertilizers or from organic sources such as manure, compost or biosolids.

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SOIL NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT TIPS

The use of bio based fertilizers & seed treatment together with soil nutrient management is vital to any sustainable agriculture strategy.

Plant nutrition is only one of more than fifty factors which directly affect both crop yield and quality. The availability of required nutrients, together with the degree of interaction between these nutrients and the soil, play a vital role in crop development. A deficiency in any one required nutrient, or a soil condition that limits or prevents a metabolic function from occurring can limit plant growth.

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A soil nutrient management plan

Soil Deficiencies

There is a significant difference between an induced deficiency and a real soil deficiency.

Real Soil Deficiency

For example, certain crops require the addition of molybdenum at a specific rate for optimum growth. This is a real deficiency.

Induced Deficiency

In other crops zinc or iron deficiencies, caused by high levels of phosphorus and active calcium, can result in reduced yield. This is an induced deficiency.

Diagnosis

Typically, when deficiencies occur, the tendency is to foliar or soil apply copious amounts of product and hope for a favorable result. This ad hoc approach seldom achieves the expected result and is not very cost effective.

Corrective Action

Soil organic matter is vital in rebuilding depleted soil as it ensures a continuous energy source for soil biomass, which consists of microbes, fungi, algae, protozoa, and so forth.

Soil Nutrient Management

Soil nutrient management involves not only the physical properties and mineral structure of the soil, but also the balance between soil pathogens and beneficial microbes.