Productivity improvement of rice cultivation in most parts of Africa and Asia has slowed down, which is largely due to declining soil fertility. Widely reported soil fertility constraints are deficiencies of nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P), sulphur (S) and zinc (Zn). The amount of N, P and potassium (K) removed with the harvest of 5 t grain ha −1 is estimated as 27-97 kg N ha −1 , 4-20 kg P ha −1 , and 8-32 kg K ha −1 . Straw produced from one ha of land also contains 25-40 kg N, 3.5-10.5 kg P, 70-85 kg K, 2.5-5 kg S, 15-20 kg Ca, 5-15 kg Mg and 200-350 kg Si. Soils do not have an inherent capacity to replenish these amounts of nutrients over the very short period. Most rice farmers also do not have the ability to apply nutrients due to financial limitations and/or lack of awareness. In order to sustain rice cultivation in those fields, soil fertility constraints must be addressed without prioritising unrealistic synthetic fertiliser applications. Improving soil organic carbon and nutrient pools by incorporating organic manure is needed. Crop rotation, including fallow, minimal or zero tillage, sitespecific nutrient management, and introduction and promotion of biological nutrient enrichment are other alternative and promising soil-carbon and nutrient-improvement strategies. The combination of these measures is known as an integrated plant nutrient management system (IPNS), and it must be implemented to maintain and/or improve soil fertility. Apart from agronomic interventions, cultivar selection and crop improvement programmes need to particularly focus on lowinput soils, as farmers are resource-poor. Due to the complex soil, socio-economic, and institutional structures in these regions, an integrated and participatory strategy incorporating all stakeholders is essential for implementing agronomic interventions and productivity improvement programmes.
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