Farming with rocks and minerals: challenges and opportunities

In many parts of the world food security is at risk. One of the biophysical root causes of falling per-capita food production is the declining quality and quantity of soils. To reverse this trend and increase soil fertility soil and plant nutrients have to be replenished. This review provides a literature survey of experiences of using multi-nutrient rock fertilizers for soil fertility enhancement from temperate and tropical environments. Advantages and limitations of the application of rock fertilizers are discussed. Examples are provided from two successful nutrient replenishment projects in Africa where locally available rock fertilizers are used on highly leached acid soils. The potential of combining organic materials alongside rock fertilizers in soil fertility replenishment strategies is stressed.

• Publication year

  2006

• Venue

  Anais Da Academia Brasileira De Ciencias

• Publication date

  2006-12-01

• Fields of study

  Agricultural and Food Sciences, Geology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1590/S0001-37652006000400009
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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