Increasing demand for more and better food to feed 8 billion people in the near future cannot be met if imbalance in fertilizer use continues. Although unbalanced fertilization is a serious threat to the sustainability of soil fertility, it appears that major attention in research is still given to environmental aspects related to N and P. On the other hand, numerous results prove that with higher yields and balanced fertilization, the fertilizer use efficiency improves accordingly. The first benefits to be obtained from correctly balanced fertilization are evident in higher yield and improved crop quality accompanied by greater yield security under adverse soil and climatic conditions. Furthermore, balanced fertilization makes a contribution to the safeguarding of natural resources. Because fertilizer efficiency is improved, less residual N is left in the soil, protecting the ground-water and reducing N loss by volatilization. It is both a great challenge and an opportunity for the potash industry to use these arguments to further the cause of balanced fertilization.
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