UPSC Syllabus: Gs Paper 3- Indian economy (Agriculture)
Introduction
The Green Revolution transformed Indian agriculture by introducing high-yielding crop varieties supported by irrigation and chemical fertilizers. This ensured food security and improved rural livelihoods. However, continuous cultivation and excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers created nutrient imbalance and soil degradation. Declining soil fertility now affects crop productivity, environmental safety, and livestock health. Balanced fertilization has emerged as a critical strategy to restore soil health and ensure sustainable agricultural growth.
Balanced Use of Fertilizers and Its Scientific Basis
It means applying all essential plant nutrients in proper proportion, quantity, timing, and method. It includes macronutrients and micronutrients based on crop needs and soil conditions.
The concept is based on Justus von Liebig’s Law of the Minimum, which states that crop growth depends on the most limiting nutrient. Excess supply of one nutrient cannot compensate for the deficiency of others.
Essential Nutrients Supplied-
- Primary nutrients which include nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K)
- Secondary nutrients which include Sulfur (S), calcium, andmagnesium.
- Micronutrients which include iron, zinc, copper, manganese, boron, and molybdenum.
Importance of Balanced Use of Fertilizers for Sustainable Agriculture
- Higher Crop Productivity: Balanced nutrient supply allows crops to achieve their full yield potential. Adequate nutrition improves growth and grain formation.
- Better Performance of High-Yielding Varieties: Improved crop varieties require balanced nutrients to deliver expected productivity gains. Imbalanced fertilization limits their genetic potential.
- Improved Nutrient Use Efficiency: Availability of micronutrients improves the efficiency of macronutrients. This reduces nutrient losses and fertilizer wastage.
- Improved Crop Quality and Stress Resistance: Well-nourished crops show higher resistance to pests, diseases, and climatic stress. This improves grain quality for food and fodder use.
- Improved Soil Health and Sustainability: Balanced fertilization enhances soil organic matter, microbial activity, soil structure, and water-holding capacity.
- Reduced Environmental Risks: Matching nutrient supply with crop demand reduces runoff, leaching, and water pollution. It also lowers greenhouse gas emissions.
- Cost-Effective Input Use: Efficient fertilizer application reduces unnecessary expenditure. Higher yields and better quality improve farm profitability.
Approaches and Practices for Achieving Balanced Fertilization
- Integrated Nutrient Management (INM): INM combines chemical fertilizers, organic matter, and biological sources. It ensures efficient nutrient use and maintains long-term soil fertility.
- Role of Chemical Fertilizers: Chemical fertilizers supply essential macronutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium needed for crop growth.
- Role of Organic Matter: Farmyard manure, compost, cow dung, and green manures improve soil structure, moisture retention, and microbial activity.
- Crop Rotation and Residue Management: These practices enhance nutrient recycling, improve soil diversity, and reduce pest and disease pressure.
- Customised Fertilizers through Technology: Customised fertilizers contain crop- and soil-specific nutrient combinations. Micronutrients like zinc, boron, and sulphur are blended with urea or DAP based on local deficiencies.
- Soil Test-Based Fertilizer Recommendations: Soil testing classifies nutrient status as low, medium, or high. Fertilizer doses are adjusted accordingly to avoid excess application.
- Soil Test Crop Response (STCR) Approach: STCR links fertilizer use with yield targets. It considers soil fertility, crop type, and climate to calculate exact nutrient needs.
- Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS): DRIS analyses nutrient ratios in plant tissues instead of absolute values. It helps identify nutrient imbalance during crop growth.
- Site-Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM): SSNM applies fertilizers based on soil variability within a field. Nutrients are supplied only to fill actual nutrient gaps.
- Regenerative Agriculture as Support System: Regenerative practices improve soil organic carbon and nutrient retention. Techniques include reduced tillage, crop rotation, cover crops, mulching, micro-irrigation, and climate-resilient farming.
Challenges in Achieving Balanced Fertilization
- Nitrogen Dominance: Excessive dependence on nitrogenous fertilizers and limited use of other nutrients has created serious nutrient imbalance in soils.
- Price Distortions: Price controls on single-nutrient fertilizers like DAP have reduced their prices compared to nutrient-balanced complex fertilizers such as 10:26:26:0 and 12:32:16:0, discouraging balanced use.
- Vague Price Fixing: Fertilizer prices are fixed without proper consideration of market demand and supply, leading to inefficient pricing outcomes.
- Potassium Underuse: The price of Muriate of Potassium (MOP) is neither affordable for farmers nor viable for fertilizer firms, resulting in low field application and widespread potassium deficiency.
- Declining Organic Inputs: Reduced use of organic manures has weakened soil structure, microbial activity, and long-term nutrient availability.
- Soil Nutrient decline: Continuous cultivation without nutrient replenishment has depleted secondary and micronutrients, accelerating soil fertility decline.
- Regional Soil and Climate Variability: Diverse agro-ecological conditions make uniform fertilizer recommendations ineffective.
Government Initiatives Promoting Balanced Fertilizer Use
- Soil Health Card Scheme: Launched in 2015, the scheme provides plot-wise soil test reports. It covers 12 parameters including macronutrients, micronutrients, pH, EC, and organic carbon. Over 25.55 crore soil health cards have been distributed by November 2025.
- Farmer Awareness and Capacity Building: More than 93,000 training programmes and 6.8 lakh field demonstrations have supported balanced nutrient awareness.
- Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) Scheme: The scheme promotes balanced use of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur. Subsidies are linked to nutrient content. Between 2022–23 and 2024–25, over ₹2.04 lakh crore was allocated.
- Neem-Coated Urea: 100% neem coating mandated since 2015. Neem acts as a nitrification inhibitor and improves nitrogen-use efficiency while reducing urea overuse.
- Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY): The scheme supports organic farming with financial assistance of ₹31,500 per hectare over three years. 16.90 lakh hectares have been covered till October 2025.
- PM-PRANAM Scheme: The scheme encourages reduction in chemical fertilizer use. During FY 2023–24, 14 States reduced fertilizer use by 15.14 lakh metric tonnes.
- Promotion of Nano Fertilizers: Includes nano urea and nano DAP. Supported through nationwide campaigns, PMKSK availability, field demonstrations, and drone-based spraying.
- Customised and Fortified Fertilizers: Fertilizers fortified with micronutrients like zinc and boron receive additional subsidy under the NBS framework.
- Enforcement Measures: During 2025–26, 14,692 show-cause notices, 6,373 license cancellations, and 766 FIRs were recorded to prevent fertilizer diversion.
Conclusion
Balanced fertilization is central to sustaining agricultural productivity and soil health. Excessive reliance on a few nutrients has weakened soils and reduced efficiency. Science-based nutrient management, soil testing, integrated approaches, and regenerative practices offer long-term solutions. Government initiatives such as soil health cards, nutrient-based subsidies, nano fertilizers, and strong enforcement mechanisms support this transition. Together, these measures strengthen soil resilience, optimize fertilizer use, and ensure sustainable farming systems for the future.
Question for practice
Examine the role of balanced fertilization in improving soil health, crop productivity, and long-term sustainability of Indian agriculture.
Source: PIB
