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1.
Integrated Plant Nutrient Management (IPNM) to optimize
fertilizer use
Mauritius is very limited in land resource base for
agriculture which is being more than ever stretched to feed
the local population in addition to an increasing number of
tourists while minimizing on environmental impacts. The
extremely limited land area thus renders intensification and
diversification from other crops of economic importance as
inescapable options to leverage local food production
capacity and help the country in attaining a certain degree
of self sufficiency in selected food commodities. Meeting
this challenge in an environment friendly way, calls for
adoption of a new approach to use of plant nutrients.
Integrated Plant Nutrient Management (IPNM) system is thus
proposed as a sustainable and effective mean to improve
productivity and enhance soil quality with minimum impact on
ground water quality and the environment.
It is an approach that enhances soil productivity through a
balanced use of local and external sources of plant
nutrients in a way that maintains, if not, improve soil
fertility.
IPNM
does not rely solely on use of chemical fertilizers. It
encompasses
assessment of residual soil nutrient supplies, soil pH, crop
nutrient requirement based on yield potential, nutrient
value of organic inputs such as manure, compost and crop
residues and calculation of inorganic fertiliser needs as
supplement
For more information contact:
bdu@areu.mu
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