What are the main achievements of soil testing and formulated fertilization work
In response to problems such as serious excessive and blind fertilization in some areas, the 2005 No. 1 Central Document clearly stated: efforts must be made to implement scientific fertilization, do a good job in the “fertile soil project”, promote soil testing and formulated fertilization, and increase soil organic matter. Starting in 2005, the Ministry of Agriculture organized and carried out soil testing and formulated fertilization actions nationwide, and with strong support from the Ministry of Finance, launched and implemented the soil testing and formulated fertilization subsidy project. In recent years, the No. 1 Central Document and the key work points of the State Council have clearly proposed expanding the scale of soil testing and formulated fertilization. Over the past ten years, with the support of the central finance, a cumulative total of 7.8 billion yuan has been invested, promoting the widespread development of scientific fertilization work.
(1) Comprehensive soil sampling and testing were carried out, basically clarifying the “family background” of China's cultivated land soil. Over the past ten years, localities collected a total of 17.98 million soil samples and 124 million analytical data points. Localities used soil testing data to carry out cultivated land fertility evaluations, establish soil nutrient abundance and deficiency indicators for cultivated land, develop county-level cultivated land resource management information systems, and preliminarily clarify the soil nutrient status of 1.4 billion mu of cultivated land in 1,857 project counties (farms). In particular, major common problems such as soil acidification, shallowing of the plow layer, phosphorus nutrient enrichment and imbalance of cultivated land nutrients were discovered, laying a solid foundation for formulating fertilizer formulas, carrying out soil improvement, and guiding scientific fertilization.
(2) Fertilizer efficiency experiments were widely carried out, and a fertilization indicator system for major crops was preliminarily established. Each project county annually arranged “3414” field fertilizer efficiency experiments and calibration experiments on 1 to 2 major crops, with a cumulative number of experiments reaching more than 330,000. Through field experiments, basic parameters such as soil nutrient supply and fertilizer use efficiency were preliminarily clarified, the fertilizer requirements of major crops such as rice, wheat, corn and potato were basically understood, soil nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrient abundance and deficiency indicators were revised and established again, and a county-level grain crop fertilization indicator system was established, providing a scientific basis for formulating fertilization formulas.
(3) Technical guidance was carefully organized, greatly promoting the application of scientific fertilization technology. Over the past ten years, localities distributed a total of 920 million fertilization recommendation cards, organized 494,000 trainings, and conducted 136,000 on-site observations. According to the principle of “large formula, small adjustment”, regional fertilizer formulas and scientific fertilization guidance opinions were formulated and released, and methods such as “formula cards on the wall, demonstration plots into villages, training classes to the fields, touch screens into stores, and formula fertilizer to the land” were adopted to guide farmers in determining reasonable fertilization amounts, fertilization structure, fertilization periods and fertilization methods.
⟦NL> (4) Agricultural-enterprise cooperation was widely carried out, promoting the promotion and application of formula fertilizer. Since 2012, according to the “eight-character” goal requirements of “consolidate, expand, deepen, extend”, agricultural-enterprise cooperation and production-demand connection have been organized, and the “hundred counties, thousand townships, ten thousand villages” whole-system promotion of soil testing and formulated fertilization work has been carried out, promoting formula fertilizer to households and fields and transforming fertilization methods. In 2013, 100 national-level cooperative enterprises supplied 4.5 million tons of formula fertilizer (converted to pure nutrients) through matching, and demonstration counties (farms), townships (towns) and villages under whole-system promotion achieved full coverage of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology for major soil types and major crops.
As an advanced scientific fertilization technology, soil testing and formulated fertilization has very obvious application effects, and has played a positive role in promoting stable grain yield increases, agricultural cost savings and efficiency increases, sustained increases in farmers' incomes, and energy conservation and emission reduction. This is mainly reflected in the four aspects of “double increases, double savings, double optimizations, double improvements”.
First, it achieved “double increases” in crop yields and farmers' incomes. According to sample surveys of farmers, fields applying soil testing and formulated fertilization technology increased yields per mu of wheat, rice and corn by 3.7%, 3.8% and 5.9% respectively, with income increasing by more than 30 yuan; for horticultural crops such as vegetables and fruit trees, income increased by more than 100 yuan per mu.
Second, it promoted “double savings” in production costs and resource consumption. In soil testing and formulated fertilization demonstration areas, generally 1 to 2 kg per mu of unreasonable fertilization (converted to pure nutrients) can be reduced. It is estimated that as of 2013, the country had cumulatively reduced unreasonable fertilization by more than 9.5 million tons, equivalent to saving 24.7 million tons of coal, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 64 million tons, and reducing nitrogen and phosphorus losses by 8% to 30%, effectively alleviating non-point source pollution.
Third, it accelerated “double optimizations” in the fertilization structure and fertilizer industry structure. Through project implementation, China's agricultural demand for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers was basically clarified, effectively preventing blind expansion of nitrogen fertilizer and phosphorus fertilizer production capacity and promoting rational allocation of potassium fertilizer resources. Through agricultural-enterprise cooperation to promote formula fertilizer, large and medium-sized fertilizer enterprises were guided to produce formula fertilizer according to formulas, promoting the optimization and adjustment of the fertilizer industry and fertilization structure. The proportion of formula fertilizer application gradually rose, and the momentum of excessively rapid growth in nitrogen fertilizer use was initially controlled.
Fourth, it promoted “double improvements” in the level of scientific fertilization and fertilizer use efficiency. Through project implementation, traditional concepts such as farmers emphasizing chemical fertilizers, neglecting organic fertilizers, and favoring nitrogen fertilizer are changing. According to sample surveys, in grain crop soil testing and formulated fertilization demonstration areas, about 70% of farmers adopted soil testing and formulated fertilization technology. Through the promotion of soil testing and formulated fertilization technology, the fertilizer use efficiency of formulated fertilization was significantly higher than that of farmers' conventional fertilization. In 2012, the chemical fertilizer use efficiency reached 33%, 5 percentage points higher than in 2005.