nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium budgets in indian agriculture

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium budgets in Indianagriculture

H. Pathak Æ S. Mohanty Æ N. Jain Æ A. Bhatia

Received: 25 March 2009 / Accepted: 28 May 2009 / Published online: 25 June 2009

� Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009

Abstract Nutrient budgeting is a useful tool in

determining present and future productivity of agri-

cultural land as well as undesirable effects of nutrient

mining and environmental pollution. Budgets of N, P,

and K were calculated for India for 2000–2001 taking

into consideration the inputs through inorganic fertil-

izer, animal manure, compost, green manure, legumi-

nous fixation, non-leguminous fixation, crop residues,

rain and irrigation water and outputs through crop

uptake and losses through leaching, volatilization and

denitrification. Inorganic fertilizer was the dominant

source contributing 64% of N and 78% of P inputs in

Indian agriculture, whereas K input through inorganic

fertilizer was 26%. Removals of N, P, and K by major

agricultural crops in the country were 7.7, 1.3 and

7.5 Mt, respectively. There were positive balances of

N (1.4 Mt) and P (1.0 Mt) and a negative balance of K

(3.3 Mt). It was projected that N, P, and K require-

ment by Indian agriculture would be 9.78, 1.57 and

9.52 Mt, respectively, to meet the food demand of

1.3 billion people by 2020. The study identified the

‘hotspots’ of excess nutrient loads as well as of

nutrient mining regions in India to improve our

ability to predict environmental degradation due to

imbalanced fertilizer use. However, there are some

uncertainties in India’s nutrient budget and more

research is required to reduce these uncertainties.

Keywords Ammonia volatilization �Denitrification � Fertilizer � Leaching �Manure � Nutrient balance � Nutrient uptake

Introduction

India is predominantly an agricultural country with

65% of its people depending on agriculture. Agricul-

ture in India, until the middle of the twentieth century,

relied mostly on organic manure. With the intro-

duction of modern high yielding varieties and

development of irrigation facilities during 1960s,

consumption of chemical fertilizer has increased

markedly (Fig. 1). In 1950–1951, consumption of N

fertilizer in the country was only 0.06 million ton

(Mt), which increased to 10.8 Mt in 2000–2001, an

increase of about 190-fold in the last 50 years (FAI

2000–2007). Consumption of P fertilizer has also

risen sharply with less than 0.01 Mt in 1950–1951 to

1.8 Mt in 2000–2001. However, use of K fertilizer has

been very low with almost nil in 1950–1951 to only

0.81 Mt in 2000–2001. Along with increase in the

consumption of fertilizer, agricultural production has

increased considerably (Fig. 1). In 1950–1951, India

produced only 50.82 Mt of food grains from an area of

97.32 Mha to feed a population of 361 million

H. Pathak (&) � N. Jain � A. Bhatia

Division of Environmental Sciences, Indian Agricultural

Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India

e-mail: [email protected]

S. Mohanty

International Rice Research Institute, India Office,

New Delhi, India

123

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst (2010) 86:287–299

DOI 10.1007/s10705-009-9292-5

(Fig. 2). In 2000–2001 food grain production

increased to 196.81 Mt from an area of 121.05 Mha

with a population of 1.03 billion. Annual per capita

food availability increased from 141 kg during 1950–

1951 to 208 kg during 1990–1991 but declined to

192 kg during 2000–2001 (Fig. 2). This is a serious

concern and more efforts need to be explored to plug

the demand-supply mismatch and increase the per

capita food availability.

Recent analysis of a large number of long-term soil

fertility experiments have shown that yields have

stagnated or declined for rice and wheat, the two major

crops of the country, raising concerns about the long-

term sustainability of intensively cultivated produc-

tion systems and food security of the region (Ladha

et al. 2003). Non-judicious use of nutrient in relation to

amount, timing, and balance has been identified as a

possible reason of such yield stagnation/decline

(Ladha et al. 2005). Most fertilizer management

practices in intensive agriculture do not consider

nutrient budget in relation to yield and there is lack of

notion that application of N, P, K and other nutrients is

highly unbalanced; resulting in stagnation or decline in

yield. Nutrient budget, which describes nutrient stocks

and flows as related to different land management

systems is a powerful tool in determining present and

future productivity of agricultural land, as well as

undesirable environmental effects such as nutrient

mining and pollution (Smaling and Fresco 1993). The

use of nutrient audits and nutrient budgets to assess the

changes in soil nutrient status and the prospects for

future food production is becoming increasingly

important in many agricultural systems (Sheldrick

et al. 2002). It has been commonly used as an indicator

to assess the change in fertility status of soil. Devel-

oping nutrient budgets is also important to raise

awareness among researchers, extension personnel,

and farmers about nutrient flows, rate of nutrient

depletion or accumulation; and to develop improved

nutrient management strategies. Although nutrient

budget calculations have been attempted for countries

in Europe, Africa, and Asia (Krishna Prasad et al.

2004; Krishna Prasad and Badarinath 2006; Pathak

et al. 2006a; Lesschen et al. 2007), most of the studies

in Asia considered limited components of N budget,

while P and K budgets were largely ignored. The

objectives of this paper were to calculate N, P, and K

budgets in Indian agriculture and identify the uncer-

tainties associated with these budgets.

Materials and methods

Study area

India is the seventh largest country in the world,

covering an area of about 328.7 million hectares, with

a population of nearly 1.2 billion. India occupies only

2.4% of the total geographical area but supports about

16.2% of the world’s human population. The main-

land of the country extends between latitudes 8�40 and

37�60N, longitudes 68�70 and 97�30E. India is divided

into 30 states, 1 national capital territory and 6 union

territories. With a net cultivated area of 141 Mha and

current cropping intensity of 135%, the total gross

cropped area in India is 190 Mha (FAI 2000–2007).

The country has a net irrigated area of 54.68 Mha and

0

3

6

9

12

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Year

N, P

and

K (

Mt)

0

50

100

150

200

250

Food

gra

in (

Mt)

N

P

K

Food grain

Fig. 1 Fertilizer N, P, and K consumption and food grain

production in India since 1950

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Year

Popu

latio

n (m

illio

n)

0

50

100

150

200

250

Food

pro

duct

ion

(Mt)

&av

aila

bilit

y (k

g/ca

pita

)

Population

Food production

Food availability

Fig. 2 Population, food grain production, and food availabil-

ity in India over the years

288 Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst (2010) 86:287–299

123

a gross irrigated area of 75.14 Mha. Among the crops,

rice occupies the largest area (44.9 Mha) with a

production of 134.0 Mt followed by wheat with an

area of 27.4 Mha and a production of 75.6 Mt. The

dominant cropping systems are rice–wheat (10.0

Mha), rice–pulse (3.2 Mha), rice–rice (2.2 Mha),

and rice–oilseed (1.2 Mha) (Frolking et al. 2006).

The area under fruit and vegetables accounts for 8% of

total cropped area (FAI 2000–2007). Since much of

the statistical data was state- and union territory-

based, state and union territory were chosen as the

basic geographic unit. Inputs (mineral fertilizer,

organic manure, crop residues, biological N fixation,

irrigation, and rain), outputs (crop uptake and loss),

and budget of N, P, and K for each state were

calculated using the procedure described below. The

nutrient budget (Mg yr-1) in each state was divided

by the respective agricultural area (Mha) of the state

to calculate the nutrient budget per ha (kg ha-1). The

data were compiled in a regional scale using ARC-

VIEW Geographic Information Systems (GIS) frame-

work to depict the spatial distribution of N, P, and K

balances in the various states of the country.

Calculation of N, P, and K budgets

Annual budgets of N, P and K (Mg yr-1) for each

state were calculated using the following equations.

N budget ¼XðFertilizer N; animal manure N;

compost N; green manure N;

biologically fixed N; crop residue N;

rain N; and irrigation water NÞ�X

N uptake and N lossð Þ

P budget ¼XðFertilizer P, animal manure P,

compost P, crop residue P, burned rice

straw P, rain P, and irrigation water PÞ� P uptake

K budget ¼XðFertilizer K; animal manure K;

compost K; crop residue K;

burned rice straw K; rain K;

and irrigation water KÞ�X

K uptake and K lossð Þ

Inputs of N

The following equation was used to calculate N input.

N input (Mg yr�1Þ ¼NINþNAMþNCMþNGMþNLG

þNNLþNCRþNRNþNIR

where, NIN, NAM, NCM, NGM, NLG, NNL, NCR, NRN

and NIR are additions of N through inorganic

fertilizer, animal manure, compost, green manure,

leguminous fixation, non-leguminous fixation, crop

residues, rain and irrigation water, respectively.

Amount of N applied through animal manure (NAM)

was calculated as follows.

NAM ¼X

T

ðNT � NexðTÞÞ ��½1� ðAMFL

þAMCL þ AMCNÞ��

where, T is the number of the defined livestock

category (cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goat), NT is the

number of animals in each category in each state,

Nex(T) is the annual average N excretion (Mg yr-1)

per head for each livestock category, and AMFL,

AMCL, and AMCN are the fractions of animal manure

that are burnt as fuel, used for construction, and lost

during collection, respectively. Sources of data for

different parameters used in the study are given in

Table 1. Contribution of animal urine towards N

addition was not included in the study because almost

all of urine is lost from the cattle-shed before and

during collection and negligible amount is recycled

into agricultural fields. Contribution of poultry and

ducks towards N addition in soil was also not

considered as the amounts are small, a large part is

not collected, most of these are used for fishery and a

negligible amount is added to agricultural fields in the

country.

Addition of N (Mg yr-1) through compost (NCM)

was calculated taking into account the production

(Mg yr-1) of rural and urban composts in different

states and average N contents (%) in urban and rural

composts. Addition of N (Mg yr-1) through green

manure crops (NGM) such as sesbania (Sesbania

aculeata) and sunhemp (Crotalaria juncea) was

calculated taking into account total harvested area

(Mha) under the these crops in different states (FAI

2000–2007) and considering that these crops fix on an

average 30 kg N ha-1 (Motsara et al. 1995).

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst (2010) 86:287–299 289

123

Following the IPCC (2006) methodology, the

contribution of biologically fixed N (NLG) i.e., the

amount of N fixed by N-fixing crops was calculated

as

NLG ¼XðLGGY � LGGNÞ

where LGGY is grain yield (Mg ha-1) of leguminous

crops and LGGN is the N fraction in grain. Four

leguminous crops i.e., chick pea (Cicer arietinum),

pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), groundnut (Arachis

hypogaea) and soybean (Glycine max) were taken

into account for the calculation. Data on yield of

N-fixing crops were acquired from FAI (2000–2007)

whereas N content of grain was collected from

Subrian et al. (2000).

Apart from symbiotic N fixation by legumes, non-

symbiotic/free-living N2 fixation by micro-organisms

in lowland rice and upland crops also fix considerable

amount of N in soil. We assumed that about

10 kg N ha-1 will be fixed by blue green algae in

lowland rice and 5 kg N ha-1 will be the contribution

of free living N fixers in upland crops (Regmi et al.

2002). Contribution of non-leguminous N fixation

(NNL) was calculated as

NNLðMg N yr�1Þ ¼ Lowland rice area ðMhaÞ � 10

þ ½Agricultural area ðMhaÞ� lowland rice area ðMhaÞ� � 5:

Amount of N added to soil through incorporation

of crop residue (NCR) was calculated using the

following equation.

NCRðMg N yr�1Þ ¼X

0:05 � SY � SNð Þ

where, SY and SN are amount of straw (Mt) and its N

content in non-leguminous crops, respectively and 0.05

is the fraction of straw incorporated to the soil. All the

major crops i.e., rice, wheat, maize (Zea mays),

sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), barley (Hordeum vulgare),

pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum), ragi (Eleu-

sine coracana), small millets (Pancium miliaceum),

sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), cotton (Gossypium

Table 1 Basic data used in the study and their sources

Parameter Source

Consumption of N, P and K fertilizer FAI (2000–2007)

Agricultural area in each state FAI (2000–2007)

Grain yield of different crops FAI (2000–2007)

Nitrogen contents in straw of various crops Subrian et al. (2000)

Removal of N, P and K by various crops FAI (2000–2007), Witt et al. (1999), Pathak et al. (2003)

Area under rice in different states Pathak et al. (2005)

Population of livestock DES (1998)

Regional distribution of livestock population Planning Commission, India (1998)

Population of male and female amongst cattle and buffalo Statistical abstract of Haryana (1999)

Dung produced by different categories of livestock Jain and Kumar (1995)

Dry matter content in the fresh dung Bhatia et al. (2004)

N, P, and K contents in bovine, sheep and goat dung Subrian et al. (2000)

Animal dung that is burnt for fuel and used for construction Jain and Kumar (1995)

Loss of dung during collection TERI (2001)

Annual average rainfall in different states FAI (2000–2007)

Irrigation water used in different states FAI (2000–2007)

N, P and K contents in rain and irrigation water Regmi et al. (2002)

Production of potato, vegetables and fruits Paroda and Kumar (2000)

Loss of N through leaching, volatilization and denitrification Parashar et al. (1998), Banerjee et al. (2002)

Loss of K through leaching Regmi et al. (2002)

Burning of rice straw Pathak et al. (2006b)

N, P and K content in compost FAI (2000–2007)

Area under green manure crop FAI (2000–2007)


123

herbaceum), jute (Corchorus sp.) grown in India were

included in this calculation. In India crop residues are

used for fuel, feed and other domestic purposes. In some

places, Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, for

example, rice straw is burnt. Therefore, very little of

crop residues are incorporated in the field. Straw yields

(SY in Mt) of various crops were calculated from grain

yield (GY in Mt) and harvest index (HI) using the

following formula.

SY ¼ GY=HIð Þ � GY

Inputs of P and K

The following equations were used to calculate the

inputs of P and K.

P input ðMg P yr�1Þ ¼ PIN þ PAM þ PCM þ PCR

þ PSB þ PRN þ PIR

where PIN, PAM, PCM, PCR, PSB PRN and PIR are P

additions (Mg P yr-1) through inorganic fertilizer,

animal manure, compost, and crop residue, burning

of rice straw, rain and irrigation, respectively.

K input ðMg K yr�1Þ ¼ KIN þ KAM þ KCM þ KCR

þ KSB þ KRN þ KIR

where, KIN, KAM, KCM, KCR, KSB, KRN and KIR are

additions of K (Mg K yr-1) through inorganic fertil-

izer, animal manure, compost, crop residue, rice

straw burning, rain and irrigation, respectively.

Data on application of P and K fertilizers in Indian

agriculture was collected from FAI (2000–2007).

Inputs of P and K through manure, compost and crop

residues were calculated multiplying P and K

contents with manure and crop residues, respectively,

added to soil using similar methodology as discussed

in case of N input. In the states of Punjab, Haryana

and Uttar Pradesh (western part) large amount

(60–80%) of rice straw is burned in field (Pathak

et al. 2006b). Almost entire amounts of N, 25% of P,

and 20% of K present in straw are lost due to burning

and remaining 75% of P and 80% of K in rice straw is

added to soil (Dobermann and Fairhurst 2000). In this

analysis we considered that 70% of rice straw

produced in Punjab and Haryana and 25% of rice

straw produced in Uttar Pradesh is burned in field

(Pathak et al. 2006b). Rain and irrigation water

assumed to contain 0.1 and 0.05 mg L-1 P and 0.7

and 2.0 mg L-1 K, respectively (Regmi et al. 2002).

Output of N, P, and K

Removal of nutrients by crop was calculated based on

N, P, and K uptake (Mg yr-1) by all above ground

biomass (grain and straw) to produce one Mg of

economic (grain) yield.

Extents of N, P, and K loss depend on several of

soil, plant and climatic factors (Ladha et al. 2005).

Loss of N through leaching from Indian soils is 10–

20 kg N ha-1 whereas loss through NH3 volatiliza-

tion is 10–20 and denitrification is 15–30 kg N ha-1

in rice-wheat system (Aulakh and Bijay-Singh 1997;

Parashar et al. 1998; Banerjee et al. 2002; Pathak

et al. 2006a). In the present calculation, loss through

leaching, volatilization, and denitrification was taken

as 50% of N input. We assumed that there would be

no loss of P through leaching or otherwise from the

soil system. Leaching of K has been taken as 15% of

the K input (Regmi et al. 2002).

The N, P and K budgets have been presented for

every state. However, for convenience of presenting

the data, the small states, which include Andaman

and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh,

Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Goa, Daman and

Diu, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and

Sikkim have been clubbed together.

Results and discussion

N budget

Inputs of N from different sources, its removal by

crop uptake and balance in agricultural soils of

different states in India for the agricultural year of

2000–2001 have been presented in Table 2. During

2000–2001, 10.8 Mt of N fertilizer was used in

Indian agriculture, whereas animal manure, biolog-

ical N fixation (BNF), atmospheric deposition plus

irrigation water, and crop residues contributed 1.4,

2.4, 2.3 and 0.1 Mt, respectively. Total N input was

17.0 Mt and fertilizer was the dominant source

contributing 64% of it. There are significant differ-

ences in the extent of N use in various states.

Manure N input is highest in Karnataka followed by

Punjab and West Bengal (Table 2). The shares of

manure N input to total N input for these states are

17, 15, and 18%, respectively. Uttar Pradesh, with

the highest cattle population of 108 million adds


123

only 2% of total N input through manure, which is

much less in comparison to above three states. With

maximum area of 7.6 million ha under leguminous

crops (FAI 2000–2007), Madhya Pradesh tops in

biological fixation of N.

Removal of N by crop uptake was 7.7 Mt

(Table 2). The N uptake by rice was highest followed

by wheat and oilseed crops (ground nut, soybean,

mustard, castor and linseed) (Fig. 3). Losses of N

included leaching (2.3 Mt), ammonia volatilization

(2.3 Mt) and denitrification (3.1 Mt). Thus crop

removal and losses of N accounted for 15.4 Mt,

resulting in an accumulation of 1.4 Mt N in soil

system (Table 2; Fig. 4). Krishna Prasad et al.

(2004), Krishna Prasad and Badarinath (2006) and

Murugan and Dadhwal (2007) also estimated net

accumulation of N in soil (positive N balance)

ranging from 1.9 to 14.4 Mt. The estimates, however,

differed from that of Fertilizer Association of India

(FAI 2000–2007), which estimated a negative bal-

ance of N. This is because addition of N through

irrigation, rain and crop residues was not considered

in the study of FAI. The current study also differed

from that of Krishna Prasad and Badarinath (2006)

which showed that about 35.4 Mt N was input from

different sources, with output from harvested crops of

about 21.2 Mt N. In their study N balance for

agricultural lands in India showed a surplus of about

14.4 Mt. Though the N balance was negative in some

states, all the agro-ecological regions of the country

showed surplus N loads ranging from 19 to

110 kg N ha-1 yr-1.

Table 2 Input, output, and balance of N in different states of India in 2000–2001

State Input Output Balance

Fertilizer Manurea Fixationb Depositionc Crop removal Loss

Andhra Pradesh 1,314.4 165.8 210.7 144.8 518.6 869.1 447.8

Assam 73.6 4.7 38.7 65.3 110.5 72.0 -0.1

Bihar 709.3 37.8 102.4 156.5 367.9 457.7 180.5

Gujarat 499.0 36.4 92.0 128.9 335.9 349.6 70.8

Haryana 714.3 38.0 59.5 89.0 403.4 432.0 65.4

Himachal Pradesh 24.4 58.0 5.2 17.0 33.3 49.8 21.5

Jammu & Kashmir 45.8 5.5 7.0 4.0 31.6 27.6 3.0

Karnataka 732.0 219.2 158.6 203.5 437.6 615.1 260.6

Kerala 73.8 14.2 7.5 38.3 19.4 63.4 51.0

Madhya Pradesh 520.6 80.8 516.6 241.9 1164.4 579.5 -383.9

Maharashtra 965.9 67.5 282.3 214.9 794.4 687.0 49.2

Orissa 207.4 71.4 87.2 159.8 139.6 226.9 159.2

Punjab 1,018.5 212.1 58.9 112.6 632.3 672.6 97.2

Rajasthan 495.2 100.2 192.4 73.0 500.5 386.4 -26.1

Tamil Nadu 547.2 45.6 166.3 57.4 400.9 380.3 35.3

Tripura 6.9 0.5 4.1 7.4 11.4 7.5 0.1

Uttar Pradesh 2,282.0 69.0 259.0 400.2 1,239.6 1,416.7 354.0

West Bengal 561.9 179.9 93.9 171.5 524.7 457.9 24.7

Othersd 31.0 6.6 14.7 24.5 41.1 31.9 3.8

All India 10,822.9 1,413.4 2,357.0 2,310.7 7,707.3 7,782.9 1,413.9

The values are in ‘000 Mg year-1

a Manure = animal manure, green manure, compost and crop residuesb Fixation = N fixation by leguminous crops, blue green algae in rice and free living fixation in crops other than ricec Deposition = N addition through irrigation and rainfalld Include Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Goa, Daman and Diu,

Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim


123

There is wide range of variation in N balance

among the various states of the country. While

Madhya Pradesh showed negative balances of 384

thousand Mg, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh had

positive N balances of 354 and 448 thousand Mg,

respectively. High N balance in both these states is

due to excess application of fertilizer N (rates of

fertilizer N application in Uttar Pradesh and Andhra

Pradesh are 93 and 106 kg ha-1, respectively) in

comparison to the removal by crop uptake. Krishna

Prasad et al. (2004) also estimated a positive N

balance of 2.50 Mt for Uttar Pradesh. Negative or

very low positive N balance in the north eastern states

and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (-1.5–7.6 thou-

sand Mg) is because of low fertilizer N input in these

states. Fertilizer N consumption in these regions

ranges from 0.9 kg ha-1 in Nagaland to 17.0 kg ha-1

in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. With food grain

productivity ranging from 1.2 to 2.6 Mg ha-1, these

regions remain totally unaffected by the Green

Revolution. These areas provide enough untapped

potential that need to be harnessed through suitable

production technology and policy interventions.

Greater proportion of N input through organic

manure, and biological N fixation again points to

the suitability of these regions for organic agriculture.

All the states except five states in the north eastern

regions, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan; had positive

balance of N (Fig. 5). The N balance per unit of

area of land was highest in Andhra Pradesh

(40 kg N ha-1 yr-1). Recently Panda et al. (2007)

observed positive balance of N in the long-term

experiments in rice-rice systems in the treatments

with N and P application. This excess reactive N, if

poorly managed, can escape through volatilization,

denitrification, and leaching from soil-plant systems

to water bodies and the atmosphere, creating pollu-

tion problems (Ladha et al. 2005). The states where a

substantial negative balance of N is estimated, efforts

should be made to increase the N consumption and

improve N management so as to stop the N mining

from soil. Thus, managing N inputs to achieve a

balance between profitable crop production and

environmentally tolerable levels of NO3 in water

supplies should be of prime concern (Krishna Prasad

et al. 2004). The behavior of N in the soil system is

complex. An understanding of these basic processes

is essential for more efficient N management pro-

grams. One of the major challenges is to understand

the timing and amount of N supplied from mineral-

ization, while adjusting application rates of additional

inorganic or organic N fertilizer to ensure that plant N

demand is met. If this balance can be maintained,

then optimal crop yields can be reached with minimal

fertilizer wastage, financial benefits and a reduction

in environmental losses.

P budget

Inorganic fertilizer was the dominant source contrib-

uting 78% of total P (Table 3). Addition of P through

0

500

1000

1500

2000

Ric

e

Whe

at

Mai

ze

Mill

ets

Puls

es

Suge

rcan

e

Fibr

e cr

ops

Oil

seed

N, P

and

K r

emov

al (

000

Mg) N

P

K

Fig. 3 Uptake of N, P, and K by different crops in India.

(Millets include sorghum, ragi, barley and small millets; pulses

include pigeon pea and chick pea; fibre crops include jute and

cotton; oilseed includes soybean, groundnut, mustard and

castor)

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

N in

puts

N o

utpu

t

N b

alan

ce

P in

puts

P ou

tput

P ba

lanc

e

K in

puts

K o

utpu

t

K b

alan

ce

N, P

and

K (

Mt)

BalanceLosscrop removalDepositionFixationManureFertilizer

Fig. 4 Input, output, and balance of N, P, and K in Indian

agriculture during 2000–2001


123

manure and deposition is small in most of the states.

Uptake of P by different crops in the country showed

that uptake is highest by rice followed by millets and

oilseed crops (Fig. 3). Annual removal of P through

crop uptake was 1.27 Mt and there was an overall

positive balance of 1.02 Mt P in agricultural soils of

India (Table 3; Fig. 4). Panda et al. (2007) observed

positive balance of P in the long-term experiments in

rice-rice systems in the treatments with N and P

application. The states in the north eastern states

(Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,

Nagaland and Sikkim), other small states and Mad-

hya Pradesh showed negative P balance. Low fertil-

izer P application (3.7 kg P ha-1) along with high P

removal by crops resulted in a negative balance of

0.049 Mt P in Madhya Pradesh. Balance of P per unit

of area of land has been highest in Himachal Pradesh

and Punjab (Fig. 5). North eastern states and Madhya

Pradesh showed negative P balance ranging from 1 to

3 kg P ha-1 yr-1.

K budget

Unlike N and P major input of K came from irrigation

water and rain (1.99 Mt) followed by manure

(1.63 Mt) (Table 4). Fertilizer K (1.30 Mt) contrib-

uted 26% to total K input in India. Potassium

consumption in India in year 2000 was about one-

seventh of the country’s N consumption. In the entire

history of fertilizer use in India, K has been

NitrogenPhosphorus

Potassium

Legend N P K

ahgk( -1 yr-1)

04--08-0-5-0-02-

02--04-5-001-0

0-02-01-502-01

06-002-0108-02

Fig. 5 Balance of N, P, and K per unit cultivable area in different states of India in 2000–2001


123

approximately 10% of total NPK usage (Tiwari 2003).

Uptake by different crops in the country showed that K

uptake was highest by rice followed by wheat, millets

and fiber crops (cotton and jute) (Fig. 3). An overall

negative balance of 3.29 Mt K was estimated for the

country (Table 4; Fig. 4). With exception of Karna-

taka, Orissa and Kerala which showed positive K

balance, all other states showed negative balance of K.

Uttar Pradesh, where removal of K due to crop

production is highest (1.18 Mt), added only 0.53 Mt K

through different sources, resulting in a negative

balance of K, as high as 0.72 Mt. All major states

have an N: K (generally used to measure degree of

imbalance of N with respect to K) wider than 4:1,

which is accepted as balanced nutrient use ratio in

India (FAI 2000–2007). For Haryana this value is

about 80:1 and for Punjab it is 40:1. In the northern

zone of India with a N:P:K application ratio of

21.7:6.5:1 (greater than other three zones) presented

a gleam picture of widespread unbalanced plant

nutrient application throughout the intensively culti-

vated, irrigated Indo-Gangetic plains, which contrib-

utes a large share of the total food grain production in

India. Balance of K per unit area has been highest in

Himachal Pradesh (Fig. 5). Highest negative K bal-

ance was estimated for Haryana (76 kg ha-1 yr-1)

followed by Uttar Pradesh (41 kg ha-1 yr-1). Panda

et al. (2007) observed negative balance of K in the

long-term experiments in rice-rice systems in Orissa,

Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal even

in the treatments with 35–50 kg ha-1 K application.

This suggested the need of adequate supply of K to

crops for obtaining sustainable high yields.

Projected N, P, and K budget in 2020

Population of India is projected to rise to 1.3 billion

by 2020; the demand for food grain will also increase

(Table 5). At the same time the rapid economic

growth in post-liberalization period (1990–1991) and

increasing per capita income (World Bank 2003),

pattern of diet is also expected to change. Besides

this, although India is the second largest producer of

food grains in world, the per capita food availability

of about 200 kg is much below the world average of

309 kg and accounts for one-fourth of the world’s

Table 3 Input, output, and

balance of P in different

states of India in 2000–2001

The values are in

‘000 Mg yr-1

a Manure = animal

manure, compost and crop

residuesb Deposition = P addition

through irrigation, rainfall

and straw burntc Include Andaman and

Nicobar Islands, Arunachal

Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra

and Nagar Haveli, Delhi,

Goa, Daman and Diu,

Manipur, Meghalaya,

Mizoram, Nagaland and

Sikkim

State Input Crop removal Balance

Fertilizer Manurea Depositionb

Andhra Pradesh 263.3 38.4 4.6 97.0 209.2

Assam 15.9 2.9 3.5 20.4 1.9

Bihar 92.4 17.0 4.8 64.9 49.4

Gujarat 85.4 7.0 4.2 68.2 28.4

Haryana 90.1 8.8 4.7 71.9 31.7

Himachal Pradesh 2.9 16.7 0.4 6.5 13.4

Jammu and Kashmir 7.8 2.1 0.3 6.1 4.1

Karnataka 167.5 58.4 8.8 77.0 157.7

Kerala 16.4 2.0 3.1 3.4 18.1

Madhya Pradesh 111.6 19.7 11.0 191.1 -48.9

Maharashtra 195.7 12.1 8.3 144.3 71.9

Orissa 31.1 24.0 4.8 24.7 35.2

Punjab 123.1 67.1 12.6 105.8 97.0

Rajasthan 71.7 26.7 3.9 92.2 10.2

Tamil Nadu 90.8 9.0 2.6 65.6 36.8

Tripura 0.8 0.3 0.3 2.0 -0.7

Uttar Pradesh 299.2 21.4 16.0 124.6 212.0

West Bengal 129.7 61.6 5.7 102.1 94.9

Othersc 1.7 1.9 1.4 7.6 -2.6

All India 1,797.0 397.2 101.2 1,275.6 1,019.8


123

malnourished people. Though there is decreasing

trend in the per capita cereal consumption with

increasing income in urban and rural areas of India,

the demand for rice and wheat will increase to

168.6 Mt and 82.3 Mt, respectively in the year 2020

(Table 5). Change in dietary pattern will increase the

consumption of vegetables, pulses, oilseeds and

animal products. Paroda and Kumar (2000) estimated

projected demands of 13.3 Mt of pulse (chick pea and

pigeon Pea), 9.0 Mt of ground nut and 135.6 Mt of

vegetables in the 2020 (Table 5). Similarly the

demand for sugarcane is expected to rise to

362.3 Mt. It is assumed that all the food will be

produced in the country i.e., food sovereignty at the

country level will be maintained and food import is

not taken as an option. There is considerable scope

for increasing the domestic production by harnessing

the existing untapped potential. Average yields of

several major crops in India have explicit room to

improve as compared to the potential yields of these

crops on farmers’ fields with improved practices

(Pathak et al. 2003; Joshi et al. 2009). Clinching

evidence of large gaps between achievable yield with

existing knowledge and the actual yield realized by

the farmers’ with the existing practices followed by

the farmers is discernible from the frontline demon-

strations of various departments. This clearly rein-

forces the point that crop production can be

substantially raised through the effective dissemina-

tion and adoption of technology. However, there are

technological as well as socio-economic constraints,

which are responsible for these gaps. Studying and

ameliorating them should receive high priority by the

Govt. of India.

Table 4 Input, output, and balance of K in different states of India in 2000–2001

States Input Output Balance

Fertilizer Manurea Depositionb Crop removal Loss

Andhra Pradesh 167.6 158.1 107.2 514.7 64.9 -146.7

Assam 25.6 16.0 59.6 116.1 15.2 -30.1

Bihar 54.8 80.0 115.1 355.1 37.5 -142.7

Gujarat 47.4 32.2 96.5 369.4 26.4 -219.7

Haryana 8.1 38.2 90.9 390.9 15.4 -269.0

Himachal Pradesh 3.8 62.5 11.7 33.0 11.7 33.3

Jammu and Kashmir 1.0 11.4 4.6 31.4 2.6 -16.9

Karnataka 194.1 214.0 168.7 442.3 86.5 48.0

Kerala 51.5 8.9 42.8 19.3 15.5 68.4

Madhya Pradesh 43.2 86.2 205.2 1,013.2 50.2 -728.8

Maharashtra 194.2 56.9 171.1 817.9 63.3 -459.0

Orissa 33.8 95.3 116.6 135.9 36.9 73.0

Punjab 18.6 254.1 187.7 556.3 51.5 -147.4

Rajasthan 4.5 112.3 66.5 504.3 27.5 -348.5

Tamil Nadu 173.2 45.2 48.8 369.6 40.1 -142.4

Tripura 0.5 1.6 5.8 11.2 1.2 -4.4

Uttar Pradesh 86.5 110.9 337.7 1,180.4 72.6 -717.8

West Bengal 188.5 236.1 129.6 602.0 83.1 -131.0

Othersc 1.2 8.4 22.8 41.1 4.9 -13.6

All India 1,298.1 1,628.3 1,989.1 7,504.0 706.8 -3,295.3

The values are in ‘000 Mg yr-1

a Manure = animal manure, compost and crop residuesb Deposition = K addition through irrigation, rainfall and straw burntc Include Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Goa, Daman and Diu,

Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim


123

As a result of increased crop productivity, N, P

and K requirement by crops will increase to

9.78 Mt, 1.57 Mt and 9.52 Mt, respectively. This

increased N, P and K requirement will change the

nutrient budget towards negative unless N, P and K

consumption is increased and nutrient use efficiency

is improved. Studies have shown that there is

significant potential to increase fertilizer use effi-

ciency (Ladha et al. 2005). For example, use of an

integrated crop management strategy comprising

optimal soil, water, and crop management could

improve fertilizer use efficiency. To make integrated

nutrient management successful manure manage-

ment and marketing should be given priority.

Manure market in India has remained unorganised

and localized and manure price has been signif-

icantly higher than the chemical fertilizer in terms

of nutrients in contrast to the organised and

state-supported fertilizer market. There is a need to

promote more dynamic manure market.

Uncertainties in the budget estimates

For most marketable crops, statistics are available on

area and yield (e.g. from Ministry of Agriculture and

Cooperation, Govt. of India). The uncertainty in these

statistics, however, could arise from errors during

sampling and data acquisition. However, accurate

statistics are lacking for non-marketed feed and

fodder crops.

The country-specific estimates of NH3 emission,

leaching and denitrification are not available. Quan-

titative estimation of losses from agricultural soil is

often characterized by large biases because of high

degree of temporal and spatial variability. Influence

of many factors, such as, wind speed, rainfall and pH

of flood water on N loss could not be quantified. The

other factors causing uncertainty in N loss estimate

include techniques of fertilizer application, soil

physical situation and meteorological conditions.

Uncertainty in quantification of nutrient applied

through manure in Indian agriculture is associated

with the data on dung produced by different catego-

ries of livestock, conversion factors for N content,

manure management, technique of manure applica-

tion in soil and loss of N during collection and

storage. In addition estimate on the contribution of

animal urine towards N addition is uncertain because

a large part of it is lost from the cattle-shed before

and during collection.

Irrigation water also contributes a sizable amount

of nutrient to agricultural soil in India as 40% of

gross cultivated area of the country is irrigated. Data

on nutrient content in irrigation water is scarce.

Atmospheric deposition is an important vector for

transferring anthropogenic N to terrestrial systems. It

occurs in the form of wet N deposition through

rainwater as well as dry deposition in association with

small solid particles such as dust that are in air and

reactive N gases that interact with vegetation, soils,

and water. Krishna Prasad et al. (2004) reported total

N deposition from atmosphere for year 2000–2001 to

be 4.20 Tg N accounting for about 12% of the total

input to agricultural land. On the basis of analysis of

rainwater samples and water extracts of aerosols for

NH4 and NO3, Rastogi and Sarin (2006) reported

total atmospheric deposition (including wet and dry

deposition) of 10 kg ha-1 yr-1 during the year 2001.

The concentration of atmospheric inorganic-N is

characterized by high temporal and spatial variability

Table 5 Demand for agricultural commodities and nutrient

requirement in India in 2020

Crop Productiona Nutrient requirement

N P K

Rice 168.6 2.48 0.44 2.44

Wheat 82.3 1.91 0.29 1.43

Sorghum 13.9 0.31 0.08 0.39

Pearl millet 5.6 0.24 0.06 0.43

Maize 11.5 0.30 0.07 0.34

Ragi 2.4 0.07 0.01 0.08

Small millets 0.6 0.02 0.00 0.02

Barley 1.5 0.03 0.00 0.03

Chick pea 8.6 0.40 0.03 0.36

Pigeon pea 4.7 0.30 0.04 0.17

Ground nut 9.0 0.52 0.08 0.22

Soybean 11.5 0.77 0.09 0.42

Cotton 11.6 0.52 0.14 0.72

Jute 9.4 0.22 0.05 0.33

Potato 27.8 0.13 0.01 0.14

Vegetable 135.6 0.50 0.10 0.54

Fruits 77.0 0.46 0.05 0.86

Sugarcane 362.3 0.62 0.03 0.60

Total 9.78 1.57 9.52

The values are in (Mt)a Adopted from Paroda and Kumar (2000)


123

and the uncertainty of the estimated depositions can

be very high.

Conclusions

The current study on N, P, and K budget at the state

level helps identifying the ‘hotspots’ of excess

nutrient loads as well as soil nutrient mining that

threatens the sustainability of Indian agriculture. This

will provide useful information for reorienting fertil-

izer policies for different states. This study can

further be down-scaled to specific regions and to

specific crops for the direct benefit of the farmers. It

would improve our ability to predict nutrient export

to water bodies and help identifying areas that may be

sensitive to pollution. Since the methods used to

estimate nutrient balance is based on many assump-

tions, there are chances of uncertainties associated

with the result. Direct measurements of various

components of nutrient budget and use of mechanistic

models for estimation of crop uptake and losses of

nutrients in different crops and cropping systems

would improve the estimates. Research on the ways

to increase the efficiency of applied fertilizer nutrient

such as use of nitrification inhibitor and slow release

fertilizer for N, placement of N and P, conjunctive

use of organic manure and use of better agronomic

practices needs to be intensified.

Acknowledgments The authors thank Dr. J. K. Ladha,

International Rice Research Institute, India Office, New

Delhi; and Dr. P. K. Aggarwal and Dr. R. Prasad, Indian

Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi for their comments

and suggestions on the manuscript.

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