Nutrient Expert Development and Assessment

This project aims to (1) develop, test, and refine new versions of Nutrient Expert (NE) for new crops and new geographies in Asia and Africa, (2) conduct field trials and build agronomic database for non-cereal crops (e.g. cotton, cassava), and (3) initiate development of ICT based tools to help in the dissemination of the field validated versions of NE.

IPNI-2010-GBL-52

29 Apr 2016

2015 Annual Interpretive Summary


This project's objectives were to: (1) develop, test, and refine new versions of Nutrient Expert® (NE) for additional crops and new geographies (i.e., maize in sub-Saharan Africa, rice in China and India, soybean in China, wheat in North Africa, and maize with different varieties in the Philippines), (2) conduct field trials and build an agronomic database for non-cereal crops (i.e., cassava, cotton), and (3) to initiate development of information and communications technology (ICT) -based tools to help in the dissemination of the field-validated versions of NE. This project was first implemented in 2011.

The NE for Hybrid Maize has been adapted for maize-growing conditions in South Asia, China and Africa. Nutrient Expert 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 and refinement of beta versions continued for NE Maize for sub-Saharan Africa, NE Rice for China and India, NE Soybean for China, and NE Wheat for Morocco. NE-based recommendations are tested against local recommendations and farmer’s fertilizer practices (FFP)

Since 2010, field evaluations of NE Maize in Indonesia and the Philippines show increased yield and economic benefits over current FFP. In the Philippines, NE Maize has been updated to include open-pollinated and traditional varieties, where initial field testing in white corn (OPV and traditional) indicated that a robust algorithm is on track. In India, field evaluation of NE Maize (n = 412) and NE Wheat (n=701) increased yield and gross profit over FFP and local recommendations. Field validation of NE Rice across India showed positive results. In China, NE Maize (n = 541) and NE Wheat (n = 290) slightly increased yields and economic benefits over FFP, reduced N application rates in both maize and wheat by 20 to 40%, and increased K application over FFP by about 50% in both maize and wheat. Field validation of NE Rice across China has been completed and the tool is now ready and available for public use. Recent field validation results of NE Soybean indicate a promising alternative to soil testing recommendations. In Kenya, field validation of NE Soybean showed an increase in yield and gross profit over FFP. Initial field validation of NE Wheat in Morocco indicates positive results. Development of a Web app version of NE Wheat for South Asia, which is compatible with different ICT platforms including Android, has been completed. At the end of 2015, there are six field-validated MS Access versions, 2 Java DSS versions, and 1 Web app version available for download at software.ipni.net.

Nutrient Expert has been demonstrated to increase yield and profit of farmers in India, Indonesia, Kenya, and the Philippines and increased fertilizer N use efficiency in China through tailored balanced nutrient management.