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

05 Jun 2018

2016 Annual Interpretive Summary


The objectives of this project are to: 1) develop, test, and refine new versions of Nutrient Expert® (NE) for new crops and new regions (maize in sub-Saharan Africa, rice in China and India, soybean in China, wheat in North Africa and maize with different variety types in the Philippines); 2) conduct field trials and build agronomic database for non-cereal crops (i.e., cassava, cotton); and 3) initiate the development of ICT-based tools to help in the dissemination of the field-validated versions of NE. This project has been implemented since 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 was 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 recommendations were tested against local recommendations and farmer's fertilizer practices (FFP).

There are now 10 field-validated versions in four IPNI regions across Asia and Africa that are available for download at http://software.ipni.net . In 2016, we completed field validation of three NE tools: NE Rice India, NE Soybean China, and NE Maize Kenya and Zimbabwe. A tool is considered field-validated after it has been demonstrated as effective in improving farmers' yields and profits or maintained farmers' high yields, but improved their fertilizer use efficiency (i.e., case of China). Five NE tools are currently undergoing field validation: NE Wheat North Africa, NE Soybean India, NE Maize Nigeria, NE Hybrid Maize Ethiopia, and NE Hybrid Maize Tanzania. In 2016, field testing of NE Maize Philippines for hybrid and open pollinated varieties increased farmers' yields and profits through optimal application of nitrogen (N), phosphorus, and potassium. The Department of Agriculture Bureau of Agricultural Research launched the tool in 2016. All field-validated (Version 1.0) and beta versions have been ported into a Web app version, which is compatible with different ICT platforms including Android. The Web application version is also capable of automatic data capture and storage.

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 and balanced nutrient management.