Crop production in Pakistan and low nitrogen use efficiencies

Ahmad Naeem Shahzad (), Muhammad Kamran Qureshi, Abdul Wakeel () and Tom Misselbrook
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Ahmad Naeem Shahzad: Bahauddin Zakariya University
Muhammad Kamran Qureshi: Bahauddin Zakariya University
Abdul Wakeel: University of Agriculture
Tom Misselbrook: Rothamsted Research, Okehampton

Nature Sustainability, 2019, vol. 2, issue 12, 1106-1114

Abstract: Abstract Overuse of nitrogen (N) fertilizer, a crucial productivity factor in world cropping systems, is detrimental to the sustainability of crop production from an economic and environmental perspective. Mean yield, N fertilizer use, partial factor productivity (PFP) of N, N use efficiency (NUE) and N surplus in wheat, cotton and rice production in Pakistan, which account for 75% of total national fertilizer N use, were compared with those for the top producer countries for 2014. Pakistan was among the top four in terms of N use but had low mean yields, with the lowest PFP and NUE and highest N surplus. During 1961–2014 in Pakistan, N fertilizer use and N surplus grew at a much faster pace than mean yields; however, PFP and NUE continued to decline to much lower levels. The great potential for Pakistan to increase NUE lies in agronomic practices other than increasing N fertilization, such as balanced crop nutrition, irrigation management, inclusion of legumes in crop rotations, precision in-season N management and the use of enhanced efficiency fertilizers, as is the case for many other parts of the world.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-019-0429-5

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