1

Unlocking the potentials of micronutrients

Multistakeholder workshopMicronutrient management for improving harvests,

farmers’ incomes, human nutrition, and the environment.

April 5, 2016 Utrecht, The Netherlands

pbindraban@vfrc.org

Prem Bindraban

Fertilizer (N) use

deficiency excess0

(ponds N/acre)220-200

National Geographic, 2013

Gre

en R

evo

luti

on

Envi

ron

men

tal i

ssu

es

Revisit fertilizers

Basic processes

Soil weathering

P, K, Mg, S, Ca, Fe, Mn, Zn, B, Mo, Cu,

Cl, …

N-fixation

(legumes)

Livestock

Consumption

by humans

Natural ecosystems

Fertilizer

Manufacture

& Mining

Cereal Yields (ton per hectare)

Inert N2 into reactive N

Inert P, K, … into reactive P, K, …

NPK

(N2O), (NOx), (NH3)

(NO3-), (PO4

3-)

20-80% lost

Basic concepts

Livestock

Consumption

by humans

Natural ecosystems

Fertilizer

Manufacture

& Mining

Cereal Yields (ton per hectare)

NPK

Food60 Mt N4 Mt P

Annually105 Mt N18 Mt P

Annually105 Mt N - Recycle18 Mt P - Recycle

NPK

Instantaneous uptake

Integrated production systems

Biology to drive fertilizer design Chemists and industrial processing engineers develop fertilizers.

Understand plant nutrient metabolism, transport and uptake mechanisms.

Novel “packaging” and delivery of nutrients.Biologists to guide chemists.

From bulk chemistry to fine-, bio- and nano-bio-chemistry

Intake/Uptake

Nano-particle in shoot;

Courtesy Dimkpa

Bulk Chemistry

Delivery mechanismsRecycling

Bio-, bio-nano-chemistry

4R Nutrient Stewardship

Next Generation Fertilizers

2

Co

ntr

ol

PK

(-N

)

NK

(-P

)

NP

(-K

)

NP

K

NP

K+

Mg+

S

NP

K+M

g+S+

Zn+B

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

17 sites; Beira corridor Mozambique; OPV maize40% yield increase over NPK

Maize Yield (kg/ha)

42624894

55586025

Ric

e yi

eld

, kg

/ha

Rwanda 40% yield increase over current (1760 kg/ha, added value of $400/ha) at same fertilizer cost

3,0

16,8

19,318,8

23,1

0,0

5,0

10,0

15,0

20,0

25,0

Control NPK NPK+ S Zn B

no dolomite750 kg/ha dolomite

Po

tato

yie

ld (

Mt/

ha)

Burundi

Dat

a: Jo

hn

Wen

dt

-IF

DC

Nutritional content

Ming-Sheng Fan et al., 2008.

Wheat

Monasterio and Graham, 2000.

Wheat

Declines also reported for fruits and vegetables(a.o. Mg, Ca, Cu, Fe)Mayer, 1997. British Food Journal 99/6: 207–211.

Decline in soil Zn content from 6 to 0.7 mg kg-1 (ppm) in 23 years (69 crops). Bihar, India.

Shukla et al., 2015. Indian J. Fertilisers. 11, 33-43.

Health impacts of deficiencies

Bo

uis

, Bo

y-G

alle

goan

d M

een

aksh

i(20

11) Micronutrient

Malnutrition(% prevalence)

Zn deficiency

Interventions• Supplementation

– Medical / Dietary

• Fortification– Food processing

– Breeding

• Dietary diversity

Fertilization

Nutrient fortification

Improve Human Health

NPK vs NPK+MNs

Plant Disease Control

Environmental Benefits Yield Enhancement

BalancedMicronutrient

Fertilizers

Multiple functions of micronutrients

Bindraban et al, 2015.Dimkpa & Bindraban, 2015.

Nutrient fortification

Improve Human Health

NPK vs NPK+MNs

Plant Disease Control

Environmental Benefits Yield Enhancement

Societal issues

BalancedMicronutrient

Fertilizers

Human Nutrition Soil Health(Organic Matter, Fertility)

Plant Health Resilience (Pesticides use,Drought tolerance)

Environment(Eutrophication, Climate change, Resource use)

Food Security

Plant Nutrition

Prevent overuse / losses – fine tuning needed

Line of innovative products

• N – 23500• P – 3700 • K – 12600• S – 1500• Mg – 1400• Ca – 100• Fe – 175• Mn – 8• Zn – 26• Cu – 4• B – 5• Mo – 0.6

Gram per Ton Maize

10 kg S/ha2-3 kg Zn/ha1 kg B/ha

Blending

Coating Core Embedding

Liquid

Foliar

Micnobit

Up

take

eff

icie

ncy

2-4

year

s

0

-2 y

ears

To

day

3

Spatial specification

(No lime added)

The Micronutrient InitiativeA new vision for micronutrients

For improving harvests, human health and the environment

China Agricultural University