On-farm trials for increased and balanced use of fertilizer in India.

IMPHOS and IFFCO are launching "On-farm Trials on Efficient Use of Fertilizer Phosphorus in India", a project essentially involving multi-location single replicated on-farm trials on different cropping systems in various agro-climatic regions. There are many useful research findings available on efficient use of fertilizer P, but they have yet to be adopted by farmers in general. The central idea of the project is to disseminate knowledge on fertilizer P use through demonstrations at farmers' doorstep field. The project is executed at 8 State Agricultural Universities spread out throughout the country. About 170 trials per cropping season are laid out to investigate the following themes:

 Efficiency of phosphate rock application through different methods on acid soils
 Efficiency of water soluble P as affected by different methods of application in neutral and calcareous   soils
 Crop phosphorus requirement as affected by soil P fertility status
 Phosphorus requirement of high P demanding crops of legumes and pulses
 Fertilizer P use in low fertilizer consumption area

The project is planned for three years (2001-2004) during which period promotional and educational activities on efficient use of fertilizer P are also initiated. Holding of field days at the trial sites are an essential component. Under the planned project activities, it is expected that the farmers will learn to use fertilizer P efficiently and thereby increase both the country's agricultural production and their own profit.