Fertilizer use: one of the keys to attaining and sustaining higher crop yields

Abstract

The fertility of Uganda soils is on the whole, declining. This is due to poor farming practices characterised by low
inputs use, among other fa ctors, and a generally poor farmers' response to soil conserva tion practices. Decrease in
arable land means that farmers can no longer afford long fallow periods to restore/ma intain soil fertility. With the
majority of Ugandan farming population predominantly rural and practicing subsistence farming, there is need to
modernise agriculture in order to feed the rising population. Studies in Uganda and elsewhere have shown that soil
fertility and productivity can be maintained through use of inorganic fertilisers supplemented by organic materia ls. A
good fertiliser management programme is preceded by an appropriately conducted soil test complemented with plant
tissue analysis and correlated with field crop response data to generate fertiliser recommendations. Wtlile a fertiliser
recommendation depends on the level of soil fertility, the crop to be grown and the yield goal, fertiliser efficiency
depends on the character istics of the fertiliser material, the timing and mode of application. Attaining and susta ining
higher crop yields are a collective challenge to farmers and scientists in the 21'' century.