Assessment of Agronomic and Economic Benefits of Fertilizer Use in Maize Production Systems under Variable Farm Size, Climate and Soil Fertility Conditions in Eastern India

Farming in Eastern India is characterized by small landholders. Typically low resource availability to the farmers and low profitability from cereal farming necessitates that inputs, including fertilizer, is used in the most efficient manner to maintain farm profitability in the region. IPNI and it’s partners have recently collected agronomic data from on‐farm nutrient response studies that showed high variability in maize yield response to fertilizer N, P and K across the study region. These data were used to develop the Nutrient Expert (NE) for Maize for South Asia, a decision support tool to implement site specific nutrient management in farmers’ fields. The tool also enables researchers to conduct ex‐ante analysis of nutrient management options, evaluating the economic responses across a range of yield increases based on the resource of the farmer. This project will use NE to conduct ex ante analysis across farm typologies to improve return on investment for maize farmers in Eastern India.

IPNI-2012-IND-521