Climate Change Adaptation - Climate Resilient Agriculture for Ensuring Food Security - page 231

need to identify the crops and regions that are
more sensitive to climate changes/variability and
relocate them in more suitable areas. For exam-
ple, it is apprehended that increased temperature
would affect the quality of crops, particularly
important aromatic crops such as basmati rice
and tea. Alternative areas that would become
suitable for such crops from quality point of view
need to be identifi ed and assessed for their
suitability.

recyclable wastes, mineral fertilizers, and biofer-
tilizers, should therefore be promoted

through INM.
The aim of INM is to integrate the use of
natural and man-made soil nutrients to increase
crop productivity and preserve soil productivity
for future generations. Rather than focusing
nutrition management practices on one crop,
INM aims at optimal use of nutrient sources on a
cropping system or crop rotation basis. This
encourages farmers to focus on long-term plan-
ning and make greater consideration for environ-
mental impacts.
INM relies on a number of factors, including
appropriate nutrient application and conservation
and the transfer of knowledge about INM prac-
tices to farmers and researchers. Boosting plant
nutrients can be achieved by a range of practices
such as terracing, alley cropping, conservation
tillage, intercropping, and crop rotation. This sec-
tion will focus on INM as it relates to appropriate
fertilizer use. In addition to the standard selection
and application of fertilizers, INM practices
include new techniques such as deep placement
of fertilizers and the use of inhibitors or urea
coatings (use of urea coating agent helps to retort
the activity and growth of the bacteria responsi-
ble for denitrifi cation) that have been developed
to improve nutrient uptake.
Key components of the INM approach include:
￿ Testing procedures to determine nutrient
availability and defi ciencies in plants and
soils. These are:
-

12.2.9 Integrated Nutrient
Management (INM)

Soil is a fundamental requirement for crop
production as it provides plants with anchorage,
water, and nutrients. A certain supply of mineral
and organic nutrient sources is present in soils,
but these often have to be supplemented with
external applications, or fertilizers, for better
plant growth. Fertilizers enhance soil fertility
and are applied to promote plant growth,
improve crop yields, and support agricultural
intensifi cation.
Fertilizers are typically classifi ed as organic or
mineral. Organic fertilizers are derived from sub-
stances of plant or animal origin, such as manure,
compost, seaweed, and cereal straw. Organic fer-
tilizers generally contain lower levels of plant
nutrients as they are combined with organic mat-
ter that improves the soils' physical and biologi-
cal characteristics. The most widely used mineral
fertilizers are based on nitrogen, potassium, and
phosphate.
Optimal and balanced use of nutrient inputs
from mineral fertilizers will be of fundamental
importance to meet growing global demand for
food. Mineral fertilizer use has increased almost
fi vefold since 1960 and has signifi cantly sup-
ported global population growth. It is estimated
that nitrogen-based fertilizer has contributed
40 % to the increases in per capita food produc-
tion in the past 50 years. Nevertheless, environ-
mental concerns and economic constraints mean
that crop nutrient requirements should not be met
solely through mineral fertilizers. Effi cient use of
all nutrient sources, including organic sources,

Plant symptom analysis - visual clues can
provide indications of specifi c nutrient
defi ciencies. For example, nitrogen-
defi cient plants appear stunted and pale
compared to healthy plants.

- Tissue analysis and soil testing - where

symptoms are not visible, postharvest tis-
sue and soil samples can be analyzed in a
laboratory and compared with a reference
sample from a healthy plant.

￿ Systematic appraisal of constraints and oppor-

tunities in the current soil fertility manage-
ment practices and how these relate to the
nutrient diagnosis, for example, insuffi cient or
excessive use of fertilizers.