NPK ratio imbalance
Topic: Land Use, Farming Systems and Cropping Seasons in India · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Crops need three main nutrients: nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). In India the ideal ratio of fertiliser use is taken as about 4:2:1. Urea, which supplies nitrogen, is very cheap, so farmers use far too much of it. They use too little phosphorus and potassium. This NPK ratio imbalance weakens the soil over time, so farmers need more fertiliser to get the same yield.
Example
The imbalance is worst in Punjab and Haryana, where heavy urea use in the rice-wheat system has damaged soils. The government's responses include neem-coated urea (2015), Soil Health Cards (2015) and reform of the nutrient-based subsidy.
Don't confuse with
- Salinisation: salt builds up in the soil because of poor drainage in irrigated land. NPK imbalance is a nutrient problem caused by the wrong fertiliser mix, not by salt.
Related concepts
- Rice-wheat cropping system
- Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act 2009
- Direct seeded rice
- Zero tillage
- System of Rice Intensification
- Crop diversification
- Organic farming
- Sikkim organic state
- Natural farming
- Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana