Balancing short- and long-term goals in nutrient management

摘要

We present four case studies on cumulative crop response to repeated fertilizer additions. Greatest benefits in terms of yield, nutrient use efficiency, and soil fertility accrued over time in those systems that were managed with repeated, balanced nutrient additions that also led to improvements in soil fertility. Fertilizer recommendations must consider short-term as well as long-term crop response to applied fertilizer. Changes in soil nutrient pools need to be accounted for in evaluating nutrient management strategies by estimating the system level nutrient use efficiency.