Sheetal Sharma
International Rice Research Institute, India
Title: Catering to high variability and climate change: What next in site specific nutrient management?
Biography
Biography: Sheetal Sharma
Abstract
Site specific nutrient management (SSNM) in crops is gaining popularity due to its advantage over blanket recommended management practices (BRMPs) as it takes into account site specificity, season and crop growth variability in making soil and crop sustainable. SSNM have proved to increase yield and net profit and has been adopted by various governments and agriculture departments for scaling out. Climate change introduces new dynamics and uncertainties into agriculture production system. It affects agriculture through different means that include changes in average temperature, rainfall and climate extremes, changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide, changes in ozone concentration, changes in pest and diseases and deviations in nutritional quality. Real time climate information can help agriculturalists better manage risk, making the most of favorable climatic conditions while protecting their livelihoods from extreme events. GIS (Geographical Information System) ensures the availability of accurate forecasting of meteorological data, allow for precise predictions of crop water requirements with unprecedented spatial resolution. Remote sensing (RS) can provide the missing spatial information required by crop models for improved yield prediction. The indispensable role of GIS and RS in site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) is efficient use of nutrients for achieving the set target. Use of GIS and RS in the SSNM can do provision for mid-season correction, setting target yield based on local environment and conditions and in generating weather based advisories, leading to balanced nutrient recommendation and ultimately augmenting soil and crop productivity. Nutrient management in stress environment can be managed by the use of mid-season corrections. To improve the crop production and farmer’s income appropriate achievable target yield should be set in the SSNM. Use of GIS can help to set in precise target yield. Overall, use of geo-informatics in SSNM can really boon for sustenance under changing climate and exposing variability.