Environmental Conservation and Effective Use of Fertilizer

The Russian attack on Ukraine is wreaking havoc on the global industry. Farmers are suffering. Experts are saying that governments should take steps to prevent its escalation, as this situation could create the worst food crisis since the aftermath of World War II.

Russia and its neighboring ally Belarus are major exporters of grains worldwide. However, the imposed sanctions on both countries have impacted their supplies and caused significant price increases. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that this issue, coupled with soaring prices of fuel and fertilizers, could lead to a severe food shortage affecting numerous people worldwide.

Charlotte Hebebrand, from the Food Policy Research Institute in America, states that the Russian attack has worsened an already fragile situation. Natural gas and nitrogen-based fertilizers are crucial components of agriculture, and their rapid price increases have disrupted global availability. She points out that the attack on Ukraine has come after a prolonged period of increasing fertilizer prices, exacerbating the turmoil in the market.

The reality is that the combination of sanctions on Russia and Belarus has essentially removed all these fertilizers from the market, which were usually traded with these countries. Those countries that heavily relied on Russian and Belarusian fertilizers have been severely affected, leading to a reduction in fertilizer availability.

Hebebrand suggests that governments need to free themselves from this dependency and find long-term solutions. One possible solution is to increase domestic production, as Canada is doing with potash. Meanwhile, India is taking steps to become self-reliant in nitrogen fertilizer, and Brazil and Nigeria are working on expanding their production capabilities.

Alternative Means and Efficient Usage

According to agricultural experts, the use of alternative fertilizers can significantly mitigate the impacts of the ongoing crisis. Often, fertilizers are not used optimally for a specific crop, resulting in considerable waste. They suggest that the judicious use of chemical fertilizers can provide a short-term effective solution for the crisis. Experiments in the field of plant genetics propose changes in crops to make them more capable of using atmospheric nitrogen instead of relying solely on fertilizers. Additionally, experiments are underway to produce ammonia using a water-based electrochemical process. Ammonia is a key raw material for producing phosphates and nitrogen-based fertilizers.

According to experts, until farmers are assured of the availability of the fertilizers they need, the high prices of food will persist. The high fertilizer prices pose a serious long-term threat of transforming the current crisis into a prolonged issue. If these prices continue to remain elevated, there's a potential risk of future agricultural production or yields diminishing, leading to a severe escalation in food prices.

 Bioscience Approach

For centuries, humans have relied on plants for their sustenance, clothing, fuel, and habitation on Earth. The nutritional requirements of crops and plants are fulfilled by the endless reservoirs of essential nutrients in the soil, the cycling of agricultural and industrial waste, rainfall, and nutrient-rich water for irrigation, as well as the diverse microorganisms found within the soil and plants.

According to a report, during the past century, chemical fertilizers and pesticides came to be seen as a solution for agricultural cultivation. However, their adverse effects have proven detrimental to human health and the environment. These harmful effects have prompted agricultural experts to focus on maintaining soil fertility, meeting the nutritional needs of crops, finding new ways to combat plant diseases, and conducting research on beneficial microorganisms. Biological fertilizers, also known as biofertilizers, form a crucial part of this effort.

Biofertilizers play a vital role in the field of agriculture. They refer to naturally prepared compost materials derived from organic matter found in the soil. This fertilizer enriches the soil with essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, etc., for better provision of nutrients to crops on one hand, and on the other, it produces hormones that stimulate plant growth.

According to agricultural experts, the use of biofertilizers can lead to significant increases in crop yields and, in some cases, even up to 100% increase in the yield of leguminous crops like soybeans, chickpeas, lentils, green gram, and black gram.

Biofertilizers contain certain microorganisms that maintain the natural fertility of the soil and enhance it over time. Its importance is increasing rapidly with time in the field of agriculture, as its usage prevents the depletion of natural fertility of the soil.

Some microorganisms in the soil can absorb nitrogen present in the air. These microorganisms reside in the roots of leguminous crops and convert atmospheric nitrogen into usable forms, which contribute to the growth of plants. If these microorganisms are present in sufficient quantities in the field, the need for synthetic nitrogen fertilizers diminishes. Agricultural scientists have prepared a fertilizer, known as "Nitrogenous Biofertilizer," after research. This fertilizer is highly beneficial for the initial growth of plants, such as soybeans, chickpeas, lentils, green gram, and black gram, grown in Pakistan. It can also be used to improve fruit-bearing plants.

In recent times, through biofertilizers, biocontrols, and biotechnology, the effectiveness of beneficial microorganisms is being enhanced, leading to a future of agricultural development free from harmful chemical factors. According to experts, the most significant requirement for plant nutrition is nitrogen. In the atmospheric sphere of Earth, there is approximately 79% nitrogen, which equals 78,000 tons of urea fertilizer per acre of land and sea. According to estimates, bacteria produce around 1.3 billion tons of nitrogen annually through the process of fixation. This fulfills the nutritional needs of plants in fields, pastures, and forests. On the contrary, hundreds of thousands of industries and millions of dollars, along with the tireless efforts of humans, generate five to six million tons of nitrogen annually.

According to experts, the indiscriminate use of oil and gas, soaring prices, and diminishing reserves can no longer make agriculture dependent solely on chemical fertilizers. Phosphorus, the second most essential nutrient for plants, is naturally found in abundance in the soil. According to scientific analysis, the complete amount of phosphorus in our soil is approximately 1000 ppm. However, due to its interaction with calcium in the soil, it becomes insoluble and unavailable for plants.

 Natural Means of Enhancing Solubility

The preparation of fertilizers, transportation, storage – all these stages are leading to a continuous increase in the cost of phosphorus fertilizer due to the energy consumption, and farmers are unable to afford the recommended quantities for their fields. Experts say that many microorganisms have been discovered that enhance the solubility of phosphorus. If these microorganisms are introduced into the soil, they increase the solubility of the phosphorus fertilizer applied to the fields, resulting in better crop yields. Apart from nitrogen and phosphorus, bacteria found in the roots also improve the availability of elements like potassium, zinc, and others.

According to experts, now there's a need to develop crops that possess anti-biotic traits against various diseases, can withstand dry and adverse weather conditions, provide strength and vitality to plants in such conditions, and can tackle the issues within the soil. Furthermore, the beneficial pathogens need to be increased in numbers, so that beneficial microorganisms are present in greater quantities in the root zone. These microorganisms absorb glucose, carbohydrates, and nitrogen compounds from the glucose, carbohydrates, and nitrogen compounds excreted by the roots, and provide nutrients to the plants. Their quantities and the number of beneficial microorganisms also change with the age of the plant.

Environmental Preservation and Effective Use of Fertilizers

Developed and progressive agricultural countries such as the United States, Europe, Russia, China, India, Japan, etc., are extensively engaged in research and production of biofertilizers and biocontrols. Biofertilizers and biocontrol products are being used successfully over millions of acres. However, in Pakistan, research and commercial production are still in their early stages.

Experiments conducted by soil microbial experts from the Agricultural Research Institute Faisalabad, the Agricultural University of Sargodha, and the Soil Fertility Research Institute (NARC) indicate that the use of biofertilizers leads to improved soil health, increased crop yields, reduced dependency on chemical fertilizers, environmental preservation, and significant cost reduction. There are various types of biofertilizers that we can use.

Agricultural experts keep reminding us that fertilizers are nutrition that helps in the growth of crops. Pollution spreads due to the wastage of fertilizers. Therefore, the usage of fertilizers needs to be improved so that the crops can absorb the nutritional elements present in fertilizers more effectively and the environmental pollution caused by the wastage of fertilizers can be prevented. It's important to remember that the usage rate of fertilizers refers to the percentage of the total absorption in the soil of the nutrients provided through fertilizers. The usage rate of fertilizers determines the volume of nutrient loss.