Ludhiana, November 27

“The days are over when scientists could function in isolation with narrow focus on research. It is high time they cut across super-specialised disciplines and engage in networking. It is also time to reorient farm research priorities and base scientific pursuits on ecological regions, as functional units, to overcome production constraints in relation to environment and sustainable income of farmers.”

This was felt by delegates at the four-day international symposium on “Use of Balanced Fertilizers for Sustainable Crop Production” that concluded at Punjab Agricultural University on Saturday.

The symposium, attended by 337 delegates, including 55 from 14 countries, was sponsored by the PAU and International Potash Institute, Switzerland (IPI).

At the valedictory function, Indian Council of Agricultural Research Deputy Director General Dr J.S. Samra said the problems of "yield plateau" in food-grain production in the country in general and in the grain bowl - Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh - in particular posed a major challenge. It was therefore important for scientists to work in tandem. He said the ratio in which nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were being used in the Indo-Gangetic plains was nowhere near the ideal ratio of 4:2:1. It was time to increase the efficiency of fertilizers rather than continue with their indiscriminate use.

The growing nutrient depletion, particularly of potassium, was a cause for concern. "Its continuous mining may alter the mineralogy of clays in the soils in a way that after a time period, it may be difficult to supply adequate quantity of potassium to crops even when heavy doses of potassium fertilizers are administered.”

International Potash Institute Director Dr Hillel Magen and its India Coordinator Patricia Imas, who shared the dais with Dr Samra, reviewed the outcome of the symposium.

They urged scientists and policy-makers to understand the increasing role of potassium in agriculture.

It was potassium that counteracted frost injury in plants and scientists must try to understand the role of potassium in achieving crop resistance to "lodging, diseases and heat stress".

Scientists said climate changes must be factored in future research because weather fluctuations during grain filling stage in wheat also affected production. This was much in evidence in Indo-Gangetic plains as also in South Asia, where the overall wheat production was declining.

Therefore, perspective of balanced application of nutrients must be widened to take into consideration "national priorities, farmers' income, societal compulsions and new advances in sciences".

The common refrain at the symposium helped in identifying various gaps existing in the balanced fertilization, which needs immediate attention.

PAU Head of the Department of Soils Dr V. Beri said several papers pointed out that excess application of nitrogen and far little application of potassium fertilizers to field crops was causing imbalances.

"This is a cause for anxiety but there is no need to feel panicky about nutrient depletion, particularly of potassium. However, at the same time, it is also important to recognise the importance of returning crop residues to the farms for effectively checking the potassium mining from soils.”