Optimum nitrogen fertilizer rates for rice and wheat in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India
New research by an international team of scientists, including International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) agricultural systems and climate change scientist Tek Sapkota, has identified the optimum rates of nitrogen fertilizer application for rice and wheat crops in the Indo-Gangetic Plains of India.
By measuring crop yield and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes over two years, Sapkota and his colleagues reported that the optimum rate of N fertilizer for rice is between 120 and 200 kg per hectare, and between 50 and 185 kg per hectare for wheat. The results of the study have the potential to save farmer’s money and minimize dangerous greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining crop productivity.
Photo credit: H. Hernandez Lira/CIMMYT.
Nitrous oxide, one of the most important greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere, is responsible for ozone depletion and global climate change, and has a global warming potential 265 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Research has shown that agricultural soils account for around 60% of global nitrous oxide emissions. These emissions are directly related to the application of nitrogen fertilizers to croplands. While these fertilizers help crop yields, studies show that only about one third of the applied nitrogen is actually used by crops. The rest is released as nitrous oxide or seeps into waterways, causing harmful algal blooms.
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[Thanks to Bill T for contributing]
