Strategies of micronutrient management for food security

Abstract

Micronutrients requirement of various crops through chemicals varied from 1kg (Mo) to 50 kg (Fe) per ha. Very less part of these nutrients is taken up by the crops and the rest are lost. Nutrient use efficiency of micronutrients is extremely low. Huge amount of micro nutrients either fixed in the soil or losses by other means. Effect of micronutrient deficiency can be very severe in terms of stunted growth, low yield, dieback and even plant death. Very small application of micronutrients may produce dramatic results. The chief sources of micronutrients are organic materials available in agriculture farms which are good alternative of micronutrient fertilizers. These include FYM, poultry manure, green manure, compost, animal dungs, and crop residues. Efficiency of micronutrient applied through fertilizers in soil is only 2-10% whereas availability of micronutrients reported more than 10% when applied through organic sources and supply is continuous. Macro plant nutrients require supplementation from inorganic fertilizers, whereas the micronutrients supplied through organics do not need supplementation of micronutrient fertilizers. If these micronutrients are added through organic sources, these are slowly available to the crops as per requirement and larger part is retained by soil for the next crop.