Nutrient management and optimized fertilization on selected crops in Liaoning province

This study was conducted to validate Nutrient Expert (NE)-based fertilizer recommendations for spring maize in farmer fields and compare them with farmer fertilizer practice (FFP). For this, twenty four (24) on-farm experiments were conducted in four different counties in Liaoning province. NE-based fertilizer recommendation plots received on average 194-59-69 kg N-P₂O₅-K₂O/ha, respectively, while farmer fertilizer practice (FFP) plots received an average of 222-75-48 kg N-P₂O₅-K₂O/ha, respectively.

First year results of the study showed that although grain yields in NE and FFP treatments were statistically similar, the profit obtained was USD 255/ha higher in NE. Moreover, significantly higher agronomic efficiency of N (9.9 kg/kg) and partial factor productivity (56 kg/kg) were obtained using NE-based fertilizer recommendations than using FFP, where the corresponding values were 5.5 and 46 kg/kg. The study demonstrated that NE was an effective fertilizer recommendation method in Liaoning. Liaoning-NMBF