TIPS FOR BETTER FERTILIZER USE EFFICIENCY

1. The fertiliser scheduling must be based on soil test.
2. Selection of fertilisers should be done according to the soil reaction viz., acidic fertiliser for alkaline soils and basic fertilisers for acidic soil reactions.
3. Surface application through broadcasting should not be adopted but the fertiliser should be placed about 3-4 cms by the side or below the seed. This discourages weed growth also.

 Row Placement

4. The phosphatic and potassic fertilisers should be basal placed, because their poor mobility restricts them to the place of application. Therefore, they must be placed in the root zone.
5. Home mixing of fertilisers should be in accordance with the fertilizer-mixing guide and such fertiliser mixture must be applied as soon as possible.
6. In case of heavy soil type, half of the nitrogenous fertilisers should be basal placed and rest should be top-dressed in one split only.
7. But in case of light soils, nitrogen should be applied in three equal splits i.e 1/3 as basal, 1/3 after 30 days of sowing and the balance 1/3 about 50-60 days after sowing.
8. For at least a week, flooding with too deep water or poor drainage should be avoided after application of the fertilisers.
9. Top dressing should be done after draining out the water and weeding so that the loss of nutrient is minimum.Paddy fields, used for transplanting, should be puddled and fertilisers should be applied at the time of puddling. This will help fertilisers to penetrate and get stored in the soil.
10. The acidic soils should be treated with liming materials as and when required.
11. Deep placement of fertiliser, along with foliar feeding of nitrogen (i.e., urea) through spraying of nitrogenous fertiliser in place of top dressing should be done in case of dry lands.
12. Addition of organic manures or green manuring should be done at least once in 3-5 years.Weed growth should not be permitted in cropped areas, during any part of the year.
13. In case of flooded fields or calcarious soils, use of slow release nitrogenous fertilisers like sulphur coated urea, urea super granules, neem coated or neem blended ureas should be used so that loss of nitrogen can be minimised.
14. Mud bolls, contain urea and should be used in case of deepwater crops because they help in proper placement and also reduce the loss of nitrogen from the field.
15. Appropriate plant protection measures and proper tillage practices should be adopted so that plants remain healthy and absorb the applied nutrients from the field.

Source: http://www.tarahaat.com/Fertilizers.aspx