Integrated Nutrient Management (INM): Meaning, Concept and Goals

After reading this article you will learn about:- 1. Meaning of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) 2. Concepts of INM 3. Goals 4. Implementation of Activities 5. Components 6. Diagnostic Phase 7. Common Constraints.

Meaning of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM):

Integrated nutrient management is the combined application of chemical fertilizers along with organic resource materials like, organic manures, green manures, bi-fertilizers and other organic decomposable materials for crop production.

The basic concepts of IPNS is the maintenance or adjustment of soil fertility and supply of plant nutrients to an optimum level for sustaining desired crop productivity through optimization of benefits from all possible sources of plant nutrients in an integrated manner.

IPNS is ecologically, socially and economically viable and environment friendly which can be practiced by farmers to derive higher productivity with simultaneously maintaining soil fertility. Integrated nutrient management encourages the use of on-farm organics, thus it saves on the cost of fertilizers for crop production.

The basic concept of integrated nutrient management (INM) or integrated plant nutrition management (IPNM) is the adjustment of plant nutrient supply to an optimum level for sustaining the desired crop productivity.

It involves proper combination of chemical fertilizers, organic manure, crop, residues, N2~fixing crops (like pulses such as rice bean, Black gram, other pulses and oilseeds such as soybean and bio-fertilizers suitable to the system of land use and ecological, social and economic conditions.

The cropping system rather than an individual crop, and farming system rather than an individual field, is the focus of attention in this approach for development INM practices for various categories. The basic concept of INM is the maintenance of soil fertility, sustainable agricultural productivity and improving profitability through judicious and efficient use of fertilizers as mentioned.

Concepts of INM:

INM use five major sub-concepts, viz:

1. Plant nutrients stored in the soil.

2. Plant nutrients, those present in the crop residues, organic manure and domestic wastes.

3. Plant nutrients purchased or obtained from outside the farm.

4. Plant nutrient looses e.g. those removed from the field in crop harvest and lost from the soil through volatilization (ammonia and nitrogen oxide gases and leaching (nitrate, sulphate etc.)

5. Plant nutrient outputs e.g. nutrient uptake by the crops at harvest time.

The integrated plant nutrition management on integrated nutrient management thus firstly operates at plot level, optimizing the utilization of plant nutrients from diverse sources which are locally available, in order to improve the agronomic efficiency of such nutrient and at the same time reducing the losses of nutrients. Organic recycling is especially promoted through INM for facilitating nutrient recycling to improve soil fertility and productivity as low cost.

Goals of INM:

To Maintain Soil Poductivity:

To ensure productive and sustainable agriculture. To reduce expenditure on costs of purchased inputs by using farm manure and crop residue, etc. To utilize the potential benefits of green manures, leguminous crops and bio-fertilizers. To prevent degradation of the environment. To meet the social and economic aspiration of the farmers without harming the natural resource base of agricultural production.

Implementation of INM Activities:

Different stages of implementation of INM are as follows:

1. Diagnosis phase: collection of background information.

2. Analysis of constraints.

3. Preparing potentiality and feasibility summary

4. On-farm demonstrations.

5. Evaluation of INM activities.

Components of INM:

Components of INM and their use: Major components of integrated nutrient management are:

i. Integration of soil fertility restoring crops like green manures, legumes etc.

ii. Recycling of crop residues

iii. Use of organic manures like FYM, compost, vermicompost, biogas, slurry, poultry manure, bio-compost, press mud cakes, phosphocompost

iv. Utilization of Bio fertilizers

v. Efficient genotypes and lastly

vi. Balanced use of fertilizer nutrients as per the requirement and target yields.

Diagnostic Phase of INM:

In the first stage of diagnostic phase information with regard to the following is collected and analysed:

i. Farming/cropping systems

ii. Crop varieties grown

iii. Awareness about soil fertility problems.

iv. Use of chemical fertilizers, lime/dolomite and other agro-chemicals.

v. Use of organic manure.

vi. Availability of fertilizer and other inputs.

vii. Irrigation sources and practices.

viii. Soil testing service facility.

ix. Constraints in the adoption of INM technologies.

x. Consideration of market opportunities.

The INM technologies must be compatible with the local farming system if they are to find acceptance and adoption. Therefore, attention must be paid to examine the interaction among different components of INM and the management of crops and animals that form the farming system.

Some of the agronomic parameters which need attention are cropping pattern, intercropping practices, biological condition of the field (weeds, diseases, and insects), soil conditions, irrigation facilities and climatic conditions.

Common Constraints of INM:

Common constraints encountered by the farmers in adoption of INM technology are as follows:

1. Non-availability of FYM.

2. Difficulties in growing green manure crops.

3. Non-availability of bio-fertilizers.

4. Non-availability of soil testing facilities.

5. High cost of chemical fertilizers.

6. Non-availability of water.

7. Lack of knowledge and poor advisory services.

8. Non-availability of improved seeds.