The classical long-term trial at Hanninghof was established in 1958 on loamy sand soil in Duelmen, Germany to study the long-term effects of different nutrient management strategies. The impact of balanced mineral fertilizer application and integrating farmyard manure (FYM) with mineral fertilizer on indicators of sustainable crop production are evaluated in comparison to unbalanced nutrition. Crop rotation since 1958 was potato, followed by winter rye and oat. After 2008, the rotation was silage maize, winter rye, and potato to adjust the trial to current farm practice, but the treatments remained the same: a control plot without fertilizer; FYM alone; and mineral P + K, N, N + P, N + K, N + P + K, and N + P + K + Mg fertilizers with and without FYM. The effect of each treatment on crop yield, revenue, sustainable yield index, water and nutrient use efficiencies, soil nutrient and carbon contents, and soil pH are presented. Evaluation of the 62 years data shows that unbalanced nutrition caused by omitting nutrients and application of only FYM as organic nutrition reduced crop yield and revenue, led to inefficient use of resources and nutrients, and a depletion of soil fertility with negative implications on sustainability. Application of mineral fertilizer N + P + K + Mg as the balanced nutrition and supplementing FYM with mineral fertilizer as the integrated nutrition had social, economic and environmental benefits indicating sustainable crop production.

Sustainable Crop Production - Recent Advances addresses various nutrient, crop, and soil management issues, including recent advances in sustainable food production in the context of the changing climate. Chapters present case studies on long-term field experiments in specific locations with a focus on the state of the art of sustainable agriculture production systems.

Both nutrient scarcities and surpluses alike can threaten this balance.

The cropping system is one of the important components of sustainable agriculture, since it provides more efficient nutrient cycling. As such, balanced fertilization must be based on the concept of sustainable crop production. Feeding the rapidly growing world population using environmentally sustainable production systems is a major challenge, especially in developing countries. A number of studies have highlighted the fact that degradation of the world's cultivated soils is largely responsible for low and plateauing yields. Soil is lost rapidly but only formed over millennia, and this represents the greatest global threat to nutrient dynamics in agriculture. This means that nutrient management is essential to provide food and nutritional security for current and future generations. Nutrient dynamics and soil sustainability imply the maintenance of the desired ecological balance, the enhancement and preservation of soil functions, and the protection of biodiversity above and below ground. Understanding the role of nutrient management as a tool for soil sustainability and nutritional security requires a holistic approach to a wide range of soil parameters (biological, physical, and chemical) to assess the soil functions and nutrient dynamics of a crop management system within the desired timescale. Further, best nutrient management approaches are important to advance soil sustainability and food and nutritional security without compromising the soil quality and productive potential. Sustainable management practices must allow environmentally and economically sustainable yields and restore soil health and sustainability. This book presents soil management approaches that can provide a wide range of benefits, including improved fertility, with a focus on the importance of nutrient dynamics. Discussing the broad impacts of nutrients cycling on the sustainability of soil and the cropping systems that it supports, it also addresses nutrient application to allow environmentally and economically sustainable agroecosystems that restore soil health. Arguing that balanced fertilization must be based on the concept of INM for a cropping system rather than a crop, it provides a roadmap to nutrient management for sustainability. This richly illustrated book features tables, figures and photographs and includes extensive up-to-date references, making it a valuable resource for policymakers and researchers, as well as undergraduate and graduate students of Soil Science, Agronomy, Ecology and Environmental Sciences.

Soil health and fertility are continuously declining due to the removal of essential plant nutrients from the soils in the current changing climate scenario. Due to less soil organic carbon (SOC) and growing of high-yielding varieties and hybrids further increases deficiencies of both macro and micronutrients that had a negative impact on soil health, crop productivity, food security, and growers. Integrated nutrients management not only increases crop productivity and growers' income but also increases soil fertility, health, and sustainability in changing climates. Integrated nutrients management (INM) refers to the maintenance of soil fertility and improvement in crop productivity with the application of plant nutrients through the combined application of organic fertilizers (animal manures and plant residues), chemical fertilizers (urea, SSP, DAP, etc.) and bio-fertilizers (beneficial microbes).

This book outlines a new paradigm, Sustainable Intensification of Crop Production (SICP), which aims to produce more from the same area of land by increasing efficiency, reducing waste, conserving resources, reducing negative impacts on the environment and enhancing the provision of ecosystem services. The use of ecologically based management strategies can increase the sustainability of agricultural production while reducing off-site consequences. The book also highlights the underlying principles and outlines some of the key management practices and technologies – such as minimum soil disturbance; permanent organic soil covers; species diversification; selection of suitable cultivars, planting time, age and spacing; balanced plant nutrition; agro-ecological pest management; efficient water management; careful management of farm machinery; and integrated crop-livestock production – required to implement SICP. The green revolution (by using high-yielding crop varieties, mono-cropping, fertilization, irrigation, and pesticides) has led to enormous gains in food production and improved world food security. In many countries, however, intensive crop production has had negative impacts on production, ecosystems and the larger environment, putting future productivity at risk. In order to meet the projected demands of a growing population expected to exceed 9 billion by 2050, farmers in the developing world must double food production, a challenge complicated by the effects of climate change and growing competition for land, water and energy. This book will be of immense value to all members of the scientific community involved in teaching, research and extension activities concerning sustainable intensification. The material can be used for teaching post-graduate courses, or as a useful reference guide for policy makers.

World’s population is projected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100. To meet the food demands of the exponentially increasing population, a massive food production is necessary. Agricultural production on land and aquatic systems pose negative impacts on the earth’s ecosystems. Combined effects of climate change, land degradation, cropland losses, water scarcity and species infestations are major causes for loss of agricultural yields up to 25%. Therefore, the world needs a paradigm shift in agriculture development for sustainable food production and security through green revolution and eco-friendly approaches. Hence, agriculture practices must be sustained by the ability of farm land to produce food to satisfy human needs indefinitely as well as having sustainable impacts on the broader environment. The real agricultural challenges of the future as well as for today differ according to their geopolitical and socioeconomic contexts. Therefore, sustainable agriculture must be inclusive and have adaptability and flexibility over time to respond to demands for food production. Considering all these points, this book has been prepared to address and insights to generate awareness of food security and focuses on perspectives of sustainable food production and security towards human society. The book facilitates to describes the classical and recent advancement of technologies and strategies by sustainable way through plant and animal origin including, breeding, pest management, tissue culture, transgenic techniques, bio and phytoremediation, environmental stress and resistance, plant growth enhancing microbes, bio-fertilizer and integrated approaches of food nutrition. Chapters provide a new dimension to discuss the issues, challenges and strategies of agricultural sustainability in a comprehensive manner. It aims at educating the students, advanced and budding researchers to develop novel approaches for sustainability with environmentally sound practices.