The 4R-BMP Concept: Enhanced Nutrient Management for Agricultural Sustainability and Food and Energy Security

Abstract

Improved nutrient management for crop production is a fundamental need for meeting the growing global demand for food, feed, fiber, and fuel and producing those crops in a way that is economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable. New technologies such as genetic manipulation and precision agriculture, along with traditional plant breeding, nutrient management, and conservation, are combined into the a global framework for nutrient best management practices (BMPs) to guide farmers and their advisers in meeting the nutrient needs of sustainable crop production. Nutrient management should be approached with the idea of improving nutrient use efficiency wherever possible. A combination of improved management systems, genetic developments, and technology, crop production systems in the USA as well as other parts of the world (see Vitale and Greenplate, Chap. 11; Borlaug et al., Chap. 12; Oikeh et al., Chap. 13) have improved efficiency for N, P, and K. Caution must be exercised to be sure the perceived increased efficiency is not achieved through mining of soil nutrient reserves (see Hatfield, Chap. 4). Progress toward improving nutrient use efficiency has been made in the USA and other parts of the world through improved genetics, better use of soil testing, and increased adoption of precision farming technologies. With systematic, site-specific combination of new technology and traditional practices, and paying more attention to details in crop management, the world’s farmers can meet their crop production challenges and at the same time more efficiently use and protect their resources into the future.