Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Crop Production

“This book is a jewel, its many facets revealing the full range of advanced technical and technological data and innovative strategies in nitrogen management aimed at improving agricultural productivity and supporting sustainable and resilient agriculture, while also minimizing negative environmental impacts in line with sustainable development goals.” (Book Review Published in International Journal of Environmental Studies – Professor Nadia Boutaleb, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Morocco)

In the last 60 years fertiliser use in agriculture has increased by 900%. However, it’s been reported that up to 80% of these fertilisers are not utilised by crops but are lost to the environment as nitrous oxide, ammonia and nitrate. Improving nitrogen use efficiency is recognised as one possible solution to reducing the sector’s environmental impact and optimising its productivity and sustainability in the face of increasing pressure to feed a growing population.

Improving nitrogen use efficiency in crop production reviews recent advances in understanding nitrogen cycling in soil as well as advances in monitoring nitrogen status and synchronising fertiliser application. The book also considers developments in inorganic fertilisers to improve nitrogen use efficiency, as well as how more organic sources of nitrogen, such as livestock manure, can be optimised to achieve the same goal.

Dr N. Raghuram is a Professor and Founder-Head of the Centre for Sustainable Nitrogen and Nutrient management, School of Biotechnology, Guru Gobind Singh University, New Delhi. He was formerly the Dean of Biotechnology and Chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI). He edited several special issues of international journals on NUE and sustainable N management, and currently is the Editor in Chief of Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants. He is a steering committee member of the UNEP Global partnership on Nutrient Management (GPNM).

Professor Deli Chen is the discipline leader in the Soil and the Environment Research Group, School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Director of ARC Research Hub for Smart Fertilisers, and Director of the Australia China Joint Research Centre, Healthy Soils for Sustainable Food Production and Environmental Quality. He has expertise in water and nutrient dynamics in plant-soil systems, GIS based agroecosystem modelling and decision support systems for optimal irrigation and fertilizer management, and the measures, models and mitigates greenhouse gas emissions from land sources, enhanced efficiency N fertilizers, agricultural ‘big data’ and sustainable indices.

Dr Janke is a soil scientist with a research focus on understanding the interaction of soil bio-physico-chemical properties with nutrient cycling and availability. She is interested in identifying solutions for sustainable agricultural production which both counter and future-proof against changing climates.

Dr Masoud Hashemi is an extension professor and graduate program director at the University of Massachusetts. He is also team leader for Crops, Dairy, Livestock, Equine of UMass Extension. His research program is mainly focused on sustainable food and farming systems with special emphasis on integrating various cover crops to improve yield and quality of crops, maintain soil health, and to enhance environmental quality.

Dr. Alan Franzluebbers is a Research Ecologist with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh NC. He has more than 30 years of research experience starting with a master’s program in Nebraska, PhD in Texas, post-doctoral position in Alberta Canada, and as a full-time soil scientist in Georgia and now in North Carolina. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Forage and Grassland Council and served in the past on the Board of Directors for the Soil Science Society of America. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America.