Consumption of Mineral Fertilizers in the Polish Agriculture – Trends and Directions of Changes

Balanced, rational fertilization determines high and valuable yields of crops. Polish agriculture has been considered traditional, pro-ecological, with relatively low consumption of agrochemicals for many decades. Transformations in the economic and social area, in particular Poland’s accession to the European Union, have significantly changed this picture. This paper presents the results of the research on the trends in fertilizer consumption in the Polish agriculture. The main time range of the analyses covered the period of 2013–2017. The source materials used in the study were statistical data for the entire country and provinces, published by the Central Statistical Office (GUS), as well as results of empirical studies. According to analyses, the pressure associated with the increase in the use of mineral fertilizers in Poland is growing. In the economic year 2017/2018, the average consumption of mineral fertilizers in Poland was at a level of 141.6 kg NPK per hectare of agricultural lands and was higher by 39.2 kg than in the 2004/2005 season. The empirical studies were carried out in six randomly selected provinces in Poland. Total 1034 surveys completed by farmers were analysed. Comparative analyses were carried out using a multiple correspondence analysis (MPA). Based on the analysis performed, it can be stated that the direction of changes in the consumption of fertilizers depends on the area and economic size of the agricultural holding as well as on the district in which the agricultural holding is located. The article points out problems in the area of sustainable fertilizer consumption in Poland (high consumption of nitrogen fertilizers, low level of soil liming, etc.). Perspective directions of changes (precision agriculture, innovative fertilizers, increased farmers’ awareness of nutrient efficiency and reduction of negative impact on the environment) were also summarized.

State regulations the market of fertilizers in Russia

The international fertilizer market developing dynamically. Domestic producers of fertilizers are not only the largest exporters of these products to world markets, but also almost completely meet the demand in the domestic market. Following the provisions of sustainable development, the state regulation of the fertilizer market should determine and guarantee the safety of the production, transportation, storage and use of fertilizers for both humans and the environment. The purpose of the study is to study and systematize a set of regulatory documents regulating the market of fertilizers, taking into account the domestic and foreign trade interests of Russia, comparing domestic and foreign legislation on the studied problem. For this purpose, classical methods and economic methods of research were chosen: analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction. The law of direct action regulating the turnover of fertilizers has not been adopted in Russia, although such laws are applied in a number of countries, and they are aimed at regulating the chain of passage of fertilizers from the producer to the consumer. The structure of Russian fertilizer legislation is not linear. At the same time, the Russian system of state regulation of fertilizer turnover includes numerous and diverse regulatory and legal acts, including international ones. The analysis of the existing regulatory documents on the regulation of the fertilizer market revealed the need to harmonize legislation in terms of an integrated approach and taking into account intersectoral features: the agricultural sector unites both large and small, and medium-sized participants, while the production of fertilizers is monopolized. The development of the domestic fertilizer market is constrained by the multi-vector standards laid down in the development strategies of the agricultural sector and the chemical industry. The state policy of fertilizer circulation is characterized by inconsistency and incoherent sectoral legislation, the lack of necessary coordination of the regulation of the fertilizer market with the needs of domestic agriculture. It is necessary to introduce the concepts of new types of fertilizers in the national standards in the near future, as well as to launch public-private partnership mechanisms to saturate the domestic market with new innovative fertilizers.

Smart fertilizers: what should we mean and where should we go?

Highlights- A smart fertilizer allows to control the rate, timing and duration of nutrients release.- Nanofertilizers are powder or liquid formulations which involve the synthesis, design and use of materials at the nanoscale level.- Composite fertilizers are formulations containing nutrients mixed or coated with one or more materials that exploit synergy among materials.- Bioformulations are fertilizers containing active or dormant microorganisms capable to trigger physiological growth responses in plants.- Limited information is available for smart fertilizers on herbaceous crops in open field conditions. Abstract The current agricultural system faces several challenges, the most important being the ability to feed the increasing world population and mitigate climate change. In this context, the improvement of fertilizers’ agronomic efficiency while reducing their cost and environmental impact is one of the biggest tasks. Available literature shows that many efforts have been made to develop innovative fertilizers defined as "smart fertilizers", for which, different interpretations and definitions have been used. This paper aims to define, classify, and describe the new frontier of the so-called smart fertilizers with a particular focus on field-scale studies on herbaceous species. Most of the analyzed papers associate the "smart" concept to the controlled and/or slow release of nutrients, using both terms as synonymous. Some others broadened the concept, including the controlled release of nutrients to reduce the environmental impact. Based on our critical analysis of the available literature, we conclude that a fertilizer can be considered "smart" whenapplied to the soil, it allows control over the rate, timing, and duration of nutrients release. Our new definition is: ‘Smart fertilizer is any single or composed (sub)nanomaterial, multi-component, and/or bioformulation containing one or more nutrients that, through physical, chemical, and/or biological processes, can adapt the timing of nutrient release to the plant nutrient demand, enhancing the agronomic yields and reducing the environmental impact at sustainable costs when compared to conventional fertilizers’.

Response of Bacterial Communities upon Application of Different Innovative Organic Fertilizers in a Greenhouse Experiment Using Low-Nutrient Soil Cultivated with Cynodon dactylon

Assessing the response of microbial communities to nutrient inputs in man-managed soils is of primary importance to understand the impact on ecosystem services provided by the soil microbiome. In this study, a low-nutrient soil was supplemented with seven different innovative fertilizers including matrixes of plant, animal, fungal or synthetic origin, and dosed to deliver the same amount of nitrogen. Growth of a potted grass crop (Cynodon dactylon) was recorded and the fertilizers were scored by the plant yield obtained in a greenhouse study. Soil was sampled at 9 and 58 days after the addition and bacterial community composition was analyzed after soil DNA extraction through pyrosequencing of 16S rDNA gene amplicons. Over 900 bacterial genera were detected, belonging to 21 described and 19 candidate phyla. In spite of the equal dose of nitrogen delivered, specific groups were fostered by given fertilizers; in particular marked effects on some phyla were displayed by a yeast-based fertilizer, which was also most effective in plant productivity. The main shifts were observed shortly after the fertilizer application, followed by a gradual stabilization of the equilibrium and by a rise in community evenness.

Advances in biosorption of microelements – the starting point for the production of new agrochemicals

This paper reports the advances in biosorption of trace elements to produce value-added products for agriculture. Innovative fertilizers and dietary feed supplements can be produced by biosorption, where micronutrients are bonded with biological material. The process is controlled by the equilibrium between functional groups and micronutrient ions (e.g., Cu(II), Mn(II), Fe(II), Zn(II)), yielding the products with controlled release properties. The latter assumes high bioavailability and low toxicity to plants and animals. This makes it possible to biofortify food of plant and animal (meat, milk, eggs) origin with microelements and produce a new generation of functional food, rich in microelements. Regulatory issues related with micronutrient dietary feed supplements and fertilizers were discussed. Special attention has been paid to micronutrient deficiencies in plant cultivation and animal nutrition and to the methods of overcoming this problem. The applicability of biosorption to supplement bioavailable form of nutritionally significant elements was discussed. Current developments of biosorption-based technologies for agriculture were presented.