Sustainable agriculture productivity depends on successful maintenance of soil fertility. Among the 16 essential elements required by the plants carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are taken from air and water which account for about 96 per cent of the plant composition while the rest account for about 4 per cent called mineral nutrients. These are absorbed by the plants from soil. They play structural and functional role in the plants, besides there are some elements which play beneficial role in the plants. The mineral elements interact with soil organic matter, clay minerals, soil microorganisms and other associated mineral elements. These interactions determine their availability and dynamics in the soil. Understanding of the dynamics of plant nutrients in the soil will provide scientific basis for efficient nutrient management. Soil organic matter not only provides the nutrients required by the crop but also improve the biological and physical properties of the soil. Attempt has also made to provide information on production and management of organic manures, biofertilizers, integrated nutrient management in cropping systems and nutrient management in problematic soils.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.