Integration of environmental, agronomic, and economic aspects of fertilizer management

Science

Volumn 280, Issue 5360, 1998, Pages 112-115

  Matson, Pamela A ^a   Naylor, Rosamond ^a   Ortiz Monasterio, Ivan ^b  

^a STANFORD UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b INTERNATIONAL MAIZE AND WHEAT IMPROVEMENT CENTER CIMMYT   (Mexico)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

FERTILIZER; NITRIC OXIDE; NITROGEN; NITROUS OXIDE;

AGRICULTURAL WORKER; AGRICULTURE; ARTICLE; CROP; DEVELOPING COUNTRY; MEXICO; PRIORITY JOURNAL; TECHNOLOGY;

TRITICUM AESTIVUM;

EID: 0032478711     PISSN: 00368075     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1126/science.280.5360.112     Document Type: Article

References (43)

1. Fertilizer rates in the Yaqui Valley have grown over the past several decades, from 172 kg/ha (range: 0 to 280 kg/ha) in 1981 to ∼250 kg/ha of fertilizer N (range: 151 to 396 kg/ha) in 1996 (2) and are now considerably higher than those in many of wheat systems of the United States and Europe. In contrast, many of the irrigated rice and wheat systems of Asia have half the fertilizer N application rates of the Yaqui Valley, and substantial increases in fertilizer use are expected there [International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA)/Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), Fertilizer Use by Crop (FAO, Rome, 1992); K. G. Cassman and P. L. Pingali, GeoJournal 35, 299 (1995); P. R. Hobbs, K. D. Sayre, J. I. Ortiz-Monasterio, Increasing Wheat Yields Through Agronomic Methods (Natural Resources Special Report, CIM-MYT, Mexico DF, 1997)].
2. Fertilizer rates in the Yaqui Valley have grown over the past several decades, from 172 kg/ha (range: 0 to 280 kg/ha) in 1981 to ∼250 kg/ha of fertilizer N (range: 151 to 396 kg/ha) in 1996 (2) and are now considerably higher than those in many of wheat systems of the United States and Europe. In contrast, many of the irrigated rice and wheat systems of Asia have half the fertilizer N application rates of the Yaqui Valley, and substantial increases in fertilizer use are expected there [International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA)/Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), Fertilizer Use by Crop (FAO, Rome, 1992); K. G. Cassman and P. L. Pingali, GeoJournal 35, 299 (1995); P. R. Hobbs, K. D. Sayre, J. I. Ortiz-Monasterio, Increasing Wheat Yields Through Agronomic Methods (Natural Resources Special Report, CIM-MYT, Mexico DF, 1997)].
3. Fertilizer rates in the Yaqui Valley have grown over the past several decades, from 172 kg/ha (range: 0 to 280 kg/ha) in 1981 to ∼250 kg/ha of fertilizer N (range: 151 to 396 kg/ha) in 1996 (2) and are now considerably higher than those in many of wheat systems of the United States and Europe. In contrast, many of the irrigated rice and wheat systems of Asia have half the fertilizer N application rates of the Yaqui Valley, and substantial increases in fertilizer use are expected there [International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA)/Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), Fertilizer Use by Crop (FAO, Rome, 1992); K. G. Cassman and P. L. Pingali, GeoJournal 35, 299 (1995); P. R. Hobbs, K. D. Sayre, J. I. Ortiz-Monasterio, Increasing Wheat Yields Through Agronomic Methods (Natural Resources Special Report, CIM-MYT, Mexico DF, 1997)].
4. C. A. Meisner et al., Wheat Production and Grower Practices in the Yaqui Valley, Sonora, Mexico (Wheat Special Report No. 6, CIMMYT, Mexico DF, February 1992); unpublished surveys over the period of 1981 to 1991, earned out by the CIMMYT Economics Program, Mexico DF.
5. FAO, Fertilizer Yearbook, United Nations (1990); United Nations, United Nations Statistical Yearbook, International Economic and Social Affairs Department (1992); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agricultural Ecosystems (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report, Washington, DC, 1990); B. L. Bumb and C. A. Baanante, The Role of Fertilizer in Sustaining Food Security and Protecting the Environment to 2020 (International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, 1996).
6. FAO, Fertilizer Yearbook, United Nations (1990); United Nations, United Nations Statistical Yearbook, International Economic and Social Affairs Department (1992); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agricultural Ecosystems (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report, Washington, DC, 1990); B. L. Bumb and C. A. Baanante, The Role of Fertilizer in Sustaining Food Security and Protecting the Environment to 2020 (International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, 1996).
7. FAO, Fertilizer Yearbook, United Nations (1990); United Nations, United Nations Statistical Yearbook, International Economic and Social Affairs Department (1992); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agricultural Ecosystems (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report, Washington, DC, 1990); B. L. Bumb and C. A. Baanante, The Role of Fertilizer in Sustaining Food Security and Protecting the Environment to 2020 (International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, 1996).
8. FAO, Fertilizer Yearbook, United Nations (1990); United Nations, United Nations Statistical Yearbook, International Economic and Social Affairs Department (1992); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agricultural Ecosystems (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report, Washington, DC, 1990); B. L. Bumb and C. A. Baanante, The Role of Fertilizer in Sustaining Food Security and Protecting the Environment to 2020 (International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, 1996).
9. P. M. Vitousek et al., Ecol. Appl. 7, 737 (1997); R. W. Howarth et al., Biogeochemistry 35, 75 (1996); J. N. Galloway et al., Global Biogeochem. Cycles 9, 235 (1995).
10. P. M. Vitousek et al., Ecol. Appl. 7, 737 (1997); R. W. Howarth et al., Biogeochemistry 35, 75 (1996); J. N. Galloway et al., Global Biogeochem. Cycles 9, 235 (1995).
11. P. M. Vitousek et al., Ecol. Appl. 7, 737 (1997); R. W. Howarth et al., Biogeochemistry 35, 75 (1996); J. N. Galloway et al., Global Biogeochem. Cycles 9, 235 (1995).
12. R. T. Watson, L. G. Meiro Filho, E. Sanhueza, A. Janetos, in Climate Change 1992 - The Supplementary Report to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Scientific Assessment (Cambridge Univ. Press, New York, 1992), pp. 25-46.
13. A. R. Mosier, Fert. Res. 37, 191 (1994); A. F. Bouwman, Direct Emission of Nitrous Oxide from Agricultural Soils (Report No. 773004004, National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection, Bilthoven, the Netherlands, 1994); E. J. Williams, G. L. Hutchinson, F. C. Fehsenfeld, Global Biogeochem. Cycles 6, 351 (1992); M. J. Eichner, J. Environ. Qual. 19, 272 (1990).
14. A. R. Mosier, Fert. Res. 37, 191 (1994); A. F. Bouwman, Direct Emission of Nitrous Oxide from Agricultural Soils (Report No. 773004004, National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection, Bilthoven, the Netherlands, 1994); E. J. Williams, G. L. Hutchinson, F. C. Fehsenfeld, Global Biogeochem. Cycles 6, 351 (1992); M. J. Eichner, J. Environ. Qual. 19, 272 (1990).
15. A. R. Mosier, Fert. Res. 37, 191 (1994); A. F. Bouwman, Direct Emission of Nitrous Oxide from Agricultural Soils (Report No. 773004004, National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection, Bilthoven, the Netherlands, 1994); E. J. Williams, G. L. Hutchinson, F. C. Fehsenfeld, Global Biogeochem. Cycles 6, 351 (1992); M. J. Eichner, J. Environ. Qual. 19, 272 (1990).
16. A. R. Mosier, Fert. Res. 37, 191 (1994); A. F. Bouwman, Direct Emission of Nitrous Oxide from Agricultural Soils (Report No. 773004004, National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection, Bilthoven, the Netherlands, 1994); E. J. Williams, G. L. Hutchinson, F. C. Fehsenfeld, Global Biogeochem. Cycles 6, 351 (1992); M. J. Eichner, J. Environ. Qual. 19, 272 (1990).
17. S. J. Hall, P. A. Matson, P. M. Roth, Annu. Rev. Energy Environ. 21, 311 (1996); E. Veldkamp and M. Keller, Nutrient Cycling Agroecosyst. 48, 69 (1997); E. A. Davidson and W. Kingerlee, ibid., p. 37.
18. S. J. Hall, P. A. Matson, P. M. Roth, Annu. Rev. Energy Environ. 21, 311 (1996); E. Veldkamp and M. Keller, Nutrient Cycling Agroecosyst. 48, 69 (1997); E. A. Davidson and W. Kingerlee, ibid., p. 37.
19. S. J. Hall, P. A. Matson, P. M. Roth, Annu. Rev. Energy Environ. 21, 311 (1996); E. Veldkamp and M. Keller, Nutrient Cycling Agroecosyst. 48, 69 (1997); E. A. Davidson and W. Kingerlee, ibid., p. 37.
20. P. A. Matson, C. Billow, S. Hall, J. Zachariassen, J. Geophys. Res. 101, 18533 (1996).
21. P. A. Matson, W. J. Parton, A. G. Power, M. J. Swift, Science 277, 504 (1997); R. L. Naylor, Annu. Rev. Energy Environ. 21, 99 (1996); V. Smil, Pop. Dev. Rev. 17, 569 (1990).
22. P. A. Matson, W. J. Parton, A. G. Power, M. J. Swift, Science 277, 504 (1997); R. L. Naylor, Annu. Rev. Energy Environ. 21, 99 (1996); V. Smil, Pop. Dev. Rev. 17, 569 (1990).
23. P. A. Matson, W. J. Parton, A. G. Power, M. J. Swift, Science 277, 504 (1997); R. L. Naylor, Annu. Rev. Energy Environ. 21, 99 (1996); V. Smil, Pop. Dev. Rev. 17, 569 (1990).
24. The Yaqui Valley is located near Ciudad Obregon in Sonora, Mexico (27°N109°W, 40 m above sea level), bounded on the west by the Gulf of California and on the east by the foothills of the Sierra Madres.
25. Field experiments during 1994/1995 and 1995/ 1996 wheat seasons (November to April) were established after summer rotations with soybean. The soil is a coarse, sandy clay mixed montmorillonite classified as a Typic Caliciorthid. The site received 20 kg P/ha as triple superphosphate during initial land preparation. Seeds of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L cultivar "Rayon F29") were planted in 75-cm-wide "beds" in two rows at the rate of 100 kg/ha.
26. Farm practices and budgets were determined by on-farm socioeconomic surveys conducted by the CIMMYT economics department (1981/1994) (2) and by the Institute for International Studies at Stanford University (1994/1996). The surveys consisted of a random sample of 58 farmers in 1994/ 1995 and 31 farmers in 1995/1996, stratified by operating size of farm units and land tenure (private versus collective landholders). Data were collected at two periods in each year; farm owners or managers relied on recorded input, yield, and price data to answer the questions. The surveys were conducted by Mexican nationals familiar with the Yaqui Valley.
27. In 1994/1995, four experimental conditions (in five block replicates) were established on 6 m by 50 m plots. These included a nonfertilized control, the farmers' practice (250 kg/ha N, with 75% applied as urea-N 1 month before planting, 0% at planting, and 25% as anhydrous ammonia-N 1 month after planting, designated as 75-0-25), and alternatives that applied 250 kg/ha N fertilizer at 33-0-67 and 0-33-67 allocations. Urea was applied in the beds, and anhydrous ammonia was bubbled into irrigation water in the furrows. All plots received identical land preparation, irrigation, tillage, pest control, planting, and harvesting; furrow irrigation was carried out within several days after preplanting fertilization as a weed-control strategy, twice after planting. In 1995/ 1996, experimental plots were 22 m by 27 m, and treatments included the nonfertilized control, the farmer practice (250 kg/ha at 75-0-25 as described above), one alternative that applied 250 kg/ha N at 0-33-67, and another that applied 180 kg/ha at 0-33-67.
28. 2O can be produced as by-products, but NO is typically dominant.
29. Supplementary material is available at www. sciencemag.org/feature/data/975726.shl.
30. -1) from measurements taken during the mid-day period (13) by an equation that mathematically represents the average diel variation based on measurements of gas fluxes over 24 hours carried out four different times during the crop cycle. Daily fluxes for nonsampled days were estimated as a linear function of the 24-hour fluxes on the previous and subsequent sampling dates. Daily flux estimates were then summed over the period from first fertilization to planting (the preplanting flux) and first fertilization to harvest (the crop cycle flux); control values were subtracted from treatment values.
31. In the 1995/1996 wheat season, ∼125 kg/ha, rather than 62.5 kg/ha N, were mistakenly applied by commercial applicators at the postplanting fertilization in the farmers' practice; thus, this treatment received 312.5 kg/ha over the entire cycle. Therefore, the postplanting flux in this site may be higher than is typical for farmers' fields.
32. 2O, or NO under anaerobic conditions; under field conditions, NO is rarely emitted.
33. J. Panek and P. A. Matson, in preparation.
34. Ammonia volatilization and nitrate leaching both transport N between systems and have important consequences for other ecosystems; these loss pathways are being measured in this study and will be reported in later publications.
35. 3 were measured as described [P. A. Matson, P. M. Vitousek, J. J. Ewel, M. J. Mazzarino, G. P. Robertson, Ecology 68, 491 (1987)].
36. Grain yields were estimated as weight of grain (at 12% moisture) after harvest with a plot combine. To determine grain quality, we measured total N concentration by Kjeldahl digestion and multiplied the value by 5.83 to estimate protein concentration.
37. In 1991, the world price for fertilizer was 31% greater than the domestic price (including transportation costs); by 1995, this price distortion had fallen to 6% [A. Puente, unpublished data].
38. B. Avalos, thesis, Stanford University, Stanford, CA (1997); I. Ortiz-Monasterio, unpublished data.
39. B. Avalos, thesis, Stanford University, Stanford, CA (1997); I. Ortiz-Monasterio, unpublished data.
40. The indirect cost of interest on credit-much of it expended on fertilizer-exceeded direct fertilizalion expenses in the 1994/1995 season, when macro-economic policy, including a 100% devaluation of the Mexican peso, caused lending rates for farmers in the valley to rise from 16 to 77% per annum during the 6-month wheat cycle. As interests rates fell to 35% per annum at the end of the 1995/1996 season, fertilization became the single most important cost component in the entire budget. Roughly 50% of the farmers in the 1995/1996 survey (72) obtained credit in U.S. dollars at 17% per annum with the agreement of selling their output in U.S. dollars through export contracts.
41. -1.
42. -1.
43. We thank W. Falcon, P. Vitousek, D. Winkelmann, R. Fischer, and S. Rajaram for discussions and support and for reviewing earlier drafts of this manuscript, and the Aspen Global Change Institute for initiating discussions on this topic. C. Billow, J. Moen, M. Cisneros, and J. Panek managed and performed the field and laboratory collections and analyses. P. Brooks assisted with gas chromatography. B. Avalos, E. Rice, D. Flores, and J. Harris assisted in the socioeconomic surveys and analysis. D. Saah, J. Perez, S. Zuniga, L. Mendez, B. Ortiz, N. Placencia, H. Farrington, P. Vitousek, M. Mack, K. Lohse, T. Benning, S. Lindblom, and S. Hall assisted in the field and laboratory. We thankfully acknowledge funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Ecosystems Program, NASA Land Cover/Land Use Change Program, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, and the MacArthur Fellows Program (P.M.); the Pew Fellows Program of the Pew Charitable Trust, Ford Foundation, and Hewlett Foundation (R.N.); and CIMMYT, Ford Foundation, and Hewlett Foundation (I.O.-M.).