Nutrient Expert Development and Assessment

The objectives of this project initiated in 2011 are to: 1) evaluate through local partners the Nutrient Expert® (NE) for Hybrid Maize (NEHM) in farmers’ fields in Indonesia and the Philippines, 2) develop, test, and refine new versions of NE for maize in new geographies (China, South Asia and Africa) and NE for wheat in China and South Asia, and 3) develop NE for rice-based cropping systems in China and India. The NEHM has been adapted for maize growing conditions in South Asia, China and Africa, while NE for Wheat has been developed for South Asia and China and released after two years of field testing and evaluation by regional IPNI and local partners. Field validation of a beta version of NE maize for sub-Saharan Africa is ongoing, where NE recommendations are being tested against local recommendations and farmer’s fertilizer practices (FFP).

Field evaluations of NE maize in Indonesia and the Philippines since 2010 showed increased yield and economic benefits over current FFP. In the Philippines (n = 190), NE increased yield by 1.1 t/ha and gross profit by US$275/ha with increased application of P and K and comparable N rates. In Indonesia (n = 26), NE increased yield by 0.92 t/ha and gross profit by US$234/ha with N and P comparable to FFP rates but increased K. In India, field evaluation of NE for maize (n = 81) increased yield by 1.12 t/ha and gross profit by US$304/ha with substantial reduction in N, P and K rates. In India, NE for wheat was tested under conventional tillage (CT, n = 49) and zero tillage (ZT, n = 78) systems and showed increased yield by 0.75 and 0.71 t/ha and gross profits by US$166 and 151/ha with increased application of K and comparable N and P over FFP in CT and ZT, respectively. Both NE wheat and NE maize also performed better than local recommendations in India. In China, NE for maize and wheat crops slightly increased yields and economic benefits over FFP and showed comparable yield and economic benefits with local recommendation. Compared with FFP and local recommendations, NE reduced N application rates in both maize and wheat by 20 to 40%. NE increased K application rates over FFP by 25 to 60% in both maize and wheat. Field-validated versions (Version 1.0) of NE maize and NE wheat for China and for South Asia have been released for public use in 2013. On-farm validation trials of the beta version of NE maize for Africa started in 2012. In summary, the project has demonstrated that the use of NE can increase yield and farmer profits in India, Indonesia, and Philippines and increase fertilizer N use efficiency in China through tailored balanced nutrient management.