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.

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Phosphorus deficiencies are limiting crop production in agricultural soils worldwide. Locally available sources of raw phosphate rock (PR) are being recognized for their potential role in soil fertility improvement. Phosphorus bioavailability is essential for the efficiency of PRs and can be increased by acid treatments. The utilization of organic acid producing micro‐organisms, notably Aspergillus niger, presents a sustainable alternative to the use of strong inorganic acids, but acid production of A. niger strongly depends on the mineral content of the growth media. This study compared the phosphorus mobilization efficiency of two biological treatments, namely addition of acidic cell‐free supernatants from A. niger cultivations to PRs and the direct cultivation of A. niger with PRs. The results show that addition of PR to cultivations leads to significant differences in the profile of organic acids produced by A. niger. Additions of PR, especially igneous rocks containing high amounts of iron and manganese, lead to reduced citric acid concentrations. In spite of these differences, phosphorus mobilization was similar between treatments, suggesting that the simpler direct cultivation method was not inferior. In addition to citric acid, it is suggested that oxalic acid contributes to PR solubilization in direct cultivations with A. niger, which would benefit farmers in developing countries where conventional fertilizers are not adequately accessible.

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Free living diazotrophic bacteria are known to enrich nitrogen of organic matter sources. In this paper we report of experiments using rock biofertilizers mixed with two types of organic matter (earthworm compound and ice cream waste) inoculated with free living diazotrophic bacteria. The earthworm compound and P and K biofertilizers were mixed to form substrates S 1 (earthworm compound 3 dm 3 ? PK biofertilizer 1 dm 3 and waste ice cream 1 dm 3 ); S 2 (earthworm compound 2.5 dm 3 ? PK biofertilizer 1.5 dm 3 and waste ice cream 1 dm 3 L) and S 3 earthworm compound 2.0 dm 3 ? PK biofertilizer 2.0 dm 3 and waste ice cream 1 dm 3 ), and subsequently inoculated (100 mL pot -1 ) with 3 free living diazotrophic bacteria isolated from different Brazilian soils. The control was an uninoculated earthworm compound. Samples were collected at various incubation time (0; 15; 30 and 45 days) and analyzed for total N. Total N concentrations were highest in S 1 , S 2 and S 3 substrates at 34, 27 and 29 days, respectively. The isolate NFB 1001 increased total N in all substrates and the best results were obtained at 34 days in S 1 substrate which contained the highest amount of earthworm compound. The isolates promoted a decline in N content after 30 days of growth, indicating the best time to produce the organic biofertilizer. The organic biofertilizer enriched in nitrogen by free living diazotrophic bacteria is of relevance to organic agriculture.

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In eastern North America, many conventional livestock farms, especially dairy farms with high inputs of feed and fertiliser have excess soil phosphorus levels and an annual phosphorus surplus. However, a Canadian dairy farm in transition to organic, without fertiliser inputs reduced its farm P surplus to a marginal level. On long-term organic dairy farms in Ontario, most soils tested low to very low in available P as measured by a standard soil test. Canadian Prairie organic grain farms also consistently demonstrate deficiencies in available soil P. Organic producers have few viable alternatives for P management. Phosphate rock can be acceptable to organic standards (provided they are low in heavy metals, and not processed synthetically), but the P in these becomes available slowly, especially in high pH soils common on most organic farms in Canada. An alternative is to increase soil P availability. Enhanced microbial activity in organically managed soils may make P more available. Livestock manures are rich sources of available phosphorus, but a majority of organic farmers in Canada do not keep livestock. Off-farm manure sources are subject to organic regulations and hauling costs, both of which may be prohibitive. Furthermore, manure from conventional farms in Canada may be contaminated by genetically modified material from corn and soybean feed. Additional research is required to improve short-term availability of soil P and long-term replacement.  2007 Society of Chemical Industry Keywords: phosphorus deficiency; phosphorus surplus; phosphate rock; manure LIVESTOCK FARMS IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICAIn eastern North America, most conventional livestock farms use high inputs of feed and fertiliser, and have excess levels of available soil P levels. Even pasture-based farms with lower stocking rates and milk production than confinement farms, had an average annual P surplus of 11.3 kg P ha −1 (Table 1). 1A crucial consideration on dairy farms is the impact of dietary P on the manure N to P ratio. As the dietary P increases in feed, the N to P ratio drops in manure.2 High dietary P makes it more difficult for a farmer to meet N requirements of a crop by fertilising with manure. Nutrient management plans in eastern North America are increasingly based on P inputs from manure, rather than on N, in order to address the issue of excess soil P levels. 3,4

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