Site Specific Nutrient Management

Fertilizer recommendation in Nepal, even for rice cultivation, is presently too generalized and insufficiently related to the site-specific yield potential and soil fertility status. Site Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM) strategies include site and season specific knowledge of crop nutrient requirements and indigenous nutrient supplies that increase rice yield over farmers¿ practice of fertility management and recommended dose of fertilizer application along with higher nutrient uptake and better N use efficiency. The underlying principles of SSNM need to be carefully identified and evaluated for each macro nutrient for each specific agro-ecology. A major challenge is to simplify the approach for wider scale dissemination and adaptation to farming communities without losing components that are crucial to its success.