Agricultural production urgently needs integrated water and fertilizer technology, experts call for accelerated promotion
With population growth and the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization, China's resource and environmental constraints, such as shrinking arable land and scarce water resources, are tightening. At the same time, flood irrigation and excessive fertilization are still fairly common in many places, and the utilization rates of water and fertilizer are relatively low. Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
With population growth and the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization, China's resource and environmental constraints, such as shrinking arable land and scarce water resources, are tightening. At the same time, flood irrigation and excessive fertilization are still fairly common in many places, and the utilization rates of water and fertilizer are relatively low.
Recently, a research group on the transformation and upgrading of the fertilizer industry and the development of integrated water and fertilizer, organized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, visited Shandong Kingenta Group for research. Experts from the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Science and Technology and other departments learned about the research, development and production of water-soluble fertilizers, conducted on-site inspections of an integrated water and fertilizer experimental base, and held an expert symposium for the research project, putting forward suggestions on how to promote the transformation and upgrading of the fertilizer industry and the healthy development of water-soluble fertilizers.
At present, China's annual agricultural water use is about 360 billion cubic meters, accounting for about 62% of the country's total water use; in 2014, China's chemical fertilizer use was about 60 million tons. Both agricultural water use and chemical fertilizer use rank first in the world. Developing integrated water and fertilizer, this advanced agricultural technology, uses pipeline irrigation systems to dissolve fertilizer in water and carry out irrigation and fertilization at the same time, so as to meet crops' demand for water and nutrients in a timely and appropriate manner and achieve synchronized management and efficient use of water and fertilizer.
“China ranks first in the world in the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Improper application methods have led to a series of problems, such as an imbalance between soil use and replenishment, a decline in fertilizer utilization rates, heavy environmental pressure, and increasing difficulty in raising agricultural incomes.” Gao Xiangzhao, chief expert of the National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center, said that this year the Ministry of Agriculture proposed that by 2020 China's agriculture should achieve the goal of “one control (control the total amount of agricultural water use), two reductions (reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides), and three basics”, and issued the Action Plan for Zero Growth in Chemical Fertilizer Use by 2020, pushing efficient fertilizer use to a climax. To improve fertilizer utilization rates, vigorously developing water-soluble fertilizers and promoting integrated water and fertilizer is imperative.
Experimental surveys by Gao Xiangzhao's team show that in wheat and corn cultivation in North China, changing separate application of water and fertilizer to synchronized supply of water and fertilizer, changing 1 topdressing to 4—5 topdressings applied with water, and changing conventional compound fertilizers to highly efficient water-soluble fertilizers can reduce water use by 40% and fertilizer use by 20%.
Kang Shaozhong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the China Agricultural Problems Research Center, said that the significance of integrated water and fertilizer technology is not only water saving, fertilizer saving, environmental protection and high efficiency, but more importantly, it can play a very good role in promoting the transformation of agricultural development methods and the modernization of agriculture. At present, there are still many problems in the development of China's integrated water and fertilizer industry, such as the smallholder planting model of one household per plot restricting large-scale development, an incomplete technology extension and service system, and an emphasis on development area over project management.
“To solve these problems, it is necessary to strengthen coordination among multiple parties such as government, enterprises, institutes and universities to form a linkage mechanism; continuously improve the product access mechanism, water-saving compensation mechanism and technical service extension system; implement a standardized and customized management model for products, technology and services; and continuously improve the standardized management level of the industry.” Kang Shaozhong said.
Chen Qing, professor at the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences of China Agricultural University, believes that promoting integrated water and fertilizer technology is a systematic project that requires joint efforts from the government, scientific research institutions, enterprises, industry organizations and other parties. China's irrigated agriculture faces huge pressure, the potential for increasing the available water supply for irrigation is very small, and water resources have already been overexploited. Developing water-saving agriculture has become a consensus of the government and society, and water-saving irrigation technologies suitable for different regions and crops have been vigorously promoted in recent years. Water-soluble fertilizer manufacturers need to break through bottlenecks, strengthen connections with irrigation equipment enterprises, and strengthen coordinated linkage to jointly meet the product and technical service needs of large modern agricultural operators.
“Just as highways are important national infrastructure, the construction of pipeline systems is the most basic and most important part of promoting integrated water and fertilizer. And the biggest obstacle to promoting integrated water and fertilizer technology lies in investment in hardware facilities such as pipelines.” The experts also pointed out that the state should pay full attention to innovative technologies such as integrated water and fertilizer that benefit the country and the people, increase support for the integrated water and fertilizer industry, and introduce relevant subsidy and allowance measures as soon as possible. At the same time, further strengthen technological innovation and project management innovation, promote the connection between integrated water and fertilizer development and the Internet, and improve the informationization level of the industry.
Recently, a research group on the transformation and upgrading of the fertilizer industry and the development of integrated water and fertilizer, organized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, visited Shandong Kingenta Group for research. Experts from the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Science and Technology and other departments learned about the research, development and production of water-soluble fertilizers, conducted on-site inspections of an integrated water and fertilizer experimental base, and held an expert symposium for the research project, putting forward suggestions on how to promote the transformation and upgrading of the fertilizer industry and the healthy development of water-soluble fertilizers.
At present, China's annual agricultural water use is about 360 billion cubic meters, accounting for about 62% of the country's total water use; in 2014, China's chemical fertilizer use was about 60 million tons. Both agricultural water use and chemical fertilizer use rank first in the world. Developing integrated water and fertilizer, this advanced agricultural technology, uses pipeline irrigation systems to dissolve fertilizer in water and carry out irrigation and fertilization at the same time, so as to meet crops' demand for water and nutrients in a timely and appropriate manner and achieve synchronized management and efficient use of water and fertilizer.
“China ranks first in the world in the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Improper application methods have led to a series of problems, such as an imbalance between soil use and replenishment, a decline in fertilizer utilization rates, heavy environmental pressure, and increasing difficulty in raising agricultural incomes.” Gao Xiangzhao, chief expert of the National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center, said that this year the Ministry of Agriculture proposed that by 2020 China's agriculture should achieve the goal of “one control (control the total amount of agricultural water use), two reductions (reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides), and three basics”, and issued the Action Plan for Zero Growth in Chemical Fertilizer Use by 2020, pushing efficient fertilizer use to a climax. To improve fertilizer utilization rates, vigorously developing water-soluble fertilizers and promoting integrated water and fertilizer is imperative.
Experimental surveys by Gao Xiangzhao's team show that in wheat and corn cultivation in North China, changing separate application of water and fertilizer to synchronized supply of water and fertilizer, changing 1 topdressing to 4—5 topdressings applied with water, and changing conventional compound fertilizers to highly efficient water-soluble fertilizers can reduce water use by 40% and fertilizer use by 20%.
Kang Shaozhong, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the China Agricultural Problems Research Center, said that the significance of integrated water and fertilizer technology is not only water saving, fertilizer saving, environmental protection and high efficiency, but more importantly, it can play a very good role in promoting the transformation of agricultural development methods and the modernization of agriculture. At present, there are still many problems in the development of China's integrated water and fertilizer industry, such as the smallholder planting model of one household per plot restricting large-scale development, an incomplete technology extension and service system, and an emphasis on development area over project management.
“To solve these problems, it is necessary to strengthen coordination among multiple parties such as government, enterprises, institutes and universities to form a linkage mechanism; continuously improve the product access mechanism, water-saving compensation mechanism and technical service extension system; implement a standardized and customized management model for products, technology and services; and continuously improve the standardized management level of the industry.” Kang Shaozhong said.
Chen Qing, professor at the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences of China Agricultural University, believes that promoting integrated water and fertilizer technology is a systematic project that requires joint efforts from the government, scientific research institutions, enterprises, industry organizations and other parties. China's irrigated agriculture faces huge pressure, the potential for increasing the available water supply for irrigation is very small, and water resources have already been overexploited. Developing water-saving agriculture has become a consensus of the government and society, and water-saving irrigation technologies suitable for different regions and crops have been vigorously promoted in recent years. Water-soluble fertilizer manufacturers need to break through bottlenecks, strengthen connections with irrigation equipment enterprises, and strengthen coordinated linkage to jointly meet the product and technical service needs of large modern agricultural operators.
“Just as highways are important national infrastructure, the construction of pipeline systems is the most basic and most important part of promoting integrated water and fertilizer. And the biggest obstacle to promoting integrated water and fertilizer technology lies in investment in hardware facilities such as pipelines.” The experts also pointed out that the state should pay full attention to innovative technologies such as integrated water and fertilizer that benefit the country and the people, increase support for the integrated water and fertilizer industry, and introduce relevant subsidy and allowance measures as soon as possible. At the same time, further strengthen technological innovation and project management innovation, promote the connection between integrated water and fertilizer development and the Internet, and improve the informationization level of the industry.