Efficient Use of Soil,Water and Plant Nutrients for Food and Environmental Security

摘要

As the planet population continues to grow more and more food will need to he produced from less and less land.Soil must be kept fertile to feed the evergrowing population.The traditional sources of plant nutrient(organic manure,green manure,etc.)are not available in plenty to maintain soil fertility and sustain crop productivity.Therefore,fertiliser would continue to play a major role in nutrient supply.Axing of fertiliser use level would result in far greater problem due to decreased crop production and increased food prices than from the health and environmental threat being associated with fertiliser.The integrated use of plant nutrient is not only an efficient and environmental friendly way of nutrient management but also accrues maximum benefit to the farmers.All efforts,therefore,need to be taken so that farmers get the maximum benefit from applied nutrients for sustainable crop productivity.The paper deals with food production goal,bridging the gap,soil fertility,fertiliser need to ensure food demand,present fertiliser use scenario in India,nutrient mining and soil health,balanced fertilisation,lessons from long-term fertiliser experiments,role of micronutrient,SSNM,spatial variability and GIS mapping,water quality,improved irrigation methods,pollution related to arsenic,selenium,fluoride and sewage.Conclusions and future needs are also indicated.