1
Unlocking the potentials of micronutrients
Multistakeholder workshopMicronutrient management for improving harvests,
farmers’ incomes, human nutrition, and the environment.
April 5, 2016 Utrecht, The Netherlands
Prem Bindraban
Fertilizer (N) use
deficiency excess0
(ponds N/acre)220-200
National Geographic, 2013
Gre
en R
evo
luti
on
Envi
ron
men
tal i
ssu
es
Revisit fertilizers
Basic processes
Soil weathering
P, K, Mg, S, Ca, Fe, Mn, Zn, B, Mo, Cu,
Cl, …
N-fixation
(legumes)
Livestock
Consumption
by humans
Natural ecosystems
Fertilizer
Manufacture
& Mining
Cereal Yields (ton per hectare)
Inert N2 into reactive N
Inert P, K, … into reactive P, K, …
NPK
(N2O), (NOx), (NH3)
(NO3-), (PO4
3-)
20-80% lost
Basic concepts
Livestock
Consumption
by humans
Natural ecosystems
Fertilizer
Manufacture
& Mining
Cereal Yields (ton per hectare)
NPK
Food60 Mt N4 Mt P
Annually105 Mt N18 Mt P
Annually105 Mt N - Recycle18 Mt P - Recycle
NPK
Instantaneous uptake
Integrated production systems
Biology to drive fertilizer design Chemists and industrial processing engineers develop fertilizers.
Understand plant nutrient metabolism, transport and uptake mechanisms.
Novel “packaging” and delivery of nutrients.Biologists to guide chemists.
From bulk chemistry to fine-, bio- and nano-bio-chemistry
Intake/Uptake
Nano-particle in shoot;
Courtesy Dimkpa
Bulk Chemistry
Delivery mechanismsRecycling
Bio-, bio-nano-chemistry
4R Nutrient Stewardship
Next Generation Fertilizers
2
Co
ntr
ol
PK
(-N
)
NK
(-P
)
NP
(-K
)
NP
K
NP
K+
Mg+
S
NP
K+M
g+S+
Zn+B
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
17 sites; Beira corridor Mozambique; OPV maize40% yield increase over NPK
Maize Yield (kg/ha)
42624894
55586025
Ric
e yi
eld
, kg
/ha
Rwanda 40% yield increase over current (1760 kg/ha, added value of $400/ha) at same fertilizer cost
3,0
16,8
19,318,8
23,1
0,0
5,0
10,0
15,0
20,0
25,0
Control NPK NPK+ S Zn B
no dolomite750 kg/ha dolomite
Po
tato
yie
ld (
Mt/
ha)
Burundi
Dat
a: Jo
hn
Wen
dt
-IF
DC
Nutritional content
Ming-Sheng Fan et al., 2008.
Wheat
Monasterio and Graham, 2000.
Wheat
Declines also reported for fruits and vegetables(a.o. Mg, Ca, Cu, Fe)Mayer, 1997. British Food Journal 99/6: 207–211.
Decline in soil Zn content from 6 to 0.7 mg kg-1 (ppm) in 23 years (69 crops). Bihar, India.
Shukla et al., 2015. Indian J. Fertilisers. 11, 33-43.
Health impacts of deficiencies
Bo
uis
, Bo
y-G
alle
goan
d M
een
aksh
i(20
11) Micronutrient
Malnutrition(% prevalence)
Zn deficiency
Interventions• Supplementation
– Medical / Dietary
• Fortification– Food processing
– Breeding
• Dietary diversity
Fertilization
Nutrient fortification
Improve Human Health
NPK vs NPK+MNs
Plant Disease Control
Environmental Benefits Yield Enhancement
BalancedMicronutrient
Fertilizers
Multiple functions of micronutrients
Bindraban et al, 2015.Dimkpa & Bindraban, 2015.
Nutrient fortification
Improve Human Health
NPK vs NPK+MNs
Plant Disease Control
Environmental Benefits Yield Enhancement
Societal issues
BalancedMicronutrient
Fertilizers
Human Nutrition Soil Health(Organic Matter, Fertility)
Plant Health Resilience (Pesticides use,Drought tolerance)
Environment(Eutrophication, Climate change, Resource use)
Food Security
Plant Nutrition
Prevent overuse / losses – fine tuning needed
Line of innovative products
• N – 23500• P – 3700 • K – 12600• S – 1500• Mg – 1400• Ca – 100• Fe – 175• Mn – 8• Zn – 26• Cu – 4• B – 5• Mo – 0.6
Gram per Ton Maize
10 kg S/ha2-3 kg Zn/ha1 kg B/ha
Blending
Coating Core Embedding
Liquid
Foliar
Micnobit
Up
take
eff
icie
ncy
2-4
year
s
0
-2 y
ears
To
day
3
Spatial specification
(No lime added)
The Micronutrient InitiativeA new vision for micronutrients
For improving harvests, human health and the environment
China Agricultural University
Top Related