Fertilizer Best Management Practices (BMPs)

Best Management Practices for Turf and Lawn Fertilization
By Dr. Mike Stewart

Lawns and other turf areas provide many benefits to humans. These benefits can be divided into functional, recreational, and aesthetic components. There are several factors and practices that go into the establishment and maintenance of a quality lawn, including appropriate and adequate nutrition through application of BMPs and the principles of the “4 R’s” — right source, at the right rate, right time, and right place.


(5.5 MB)


Best Management Practices for Turf and Lawn Fertilization
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A Global Framework for Best Management Practices for Fertilizer Use

This paper describes a framework designed to facilitate development and adoption of best management practices (BMPs) for fertilizer use, and to advance the understanding of how these practices contribute to the goals of sustainable development. The framework guides the application of scientific principles to determine which BMPs can be adapted to local conditions at the practical level. >more

These publications are a series prepared by cooperators with the staff of the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI). It is part of a project in cooperation with the Foundation for Agronomic Research (FAR) toward fulfilling the goals of a 3-year Conservation Innovation Grant from the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service to identify fertilizer best management practices (BMPs). The intent is to help develop the BMP definition process in such a way that environmental objectives are met without sacrificing current or future production or profit potential and in full consideration of the newer technologies relevant to fertilizer use. The concept of applying the right fertilizer at the “right rate, right time, and right place” is a guiding theme in this series.

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Apply the “Four Rights” for Cotton Production in the Midsouth and Southeast

By C.S. Snyder, S.B. Phillips, and T.W. Bruulsema

There is a lot of discussion about best management practices (BMPs) for agriculture, motivated by increasing energy costs and economic pressures. Farmer interest in BMPs is associated with the increasing awareness that how we manage our soils and landscapes can have a large impact on the surrounding environment. As stewards of the land, farmers in the Midsouth and Southeast USA implemented soil conservation practices to improve their soil and water quality. Reductions in soil erosion and increased moisture conservation have led to higher crop yields and enhanced whole-farm economics.


(1.4 MB)

Fertilizer Management Practices for Potato Production in the Pacific Northwest
By Robert Mikkelsen and Bryan Hopkins

Potatoes are grown in almost every state and province in North America. Some potatoes are grown for fresh consumption, while others are used for processing into fries, chips, or frozen products. Whatever the end use, the objective of every potato grower is to provide high quality potatoes that meet the market objectives at a price that is economically profitable and environmentally sustainable.


(1.8 MB)

Fertilizing for Irrigated Corn
Guide to Best Management Practices
Edited by W.M. (Mike) Stewart and W.B. (Barney) Gordon

Irrigated corn production is an important component of agricultural systems in some parts of the central and southern Great Plains of the USA. Adequate and balanced nutrient inputs are critical to producing optimum yields that result in maximum profit. This 52-page color manual was designed and authored by industry, university, and government soil fertility experts to address fundamental irrigated corn fertility questions to this region. The content is especially timely considering the importance of fertilizer best management practices in managing the risk associated with today's market conditions.


(4.2 MB)


Fertilizing for Irrigated Corn - Guide to Best Management Practices
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Best Management for Fertilizers on Northeastern Dairy Farms
By Tom W. Bruulsema and Quirine Ketterings

In the past 10 years, many dairy farms in the humid temperate zone of northeastern North America have implemented best management practices (BMPs) for manure and fertilizer to address
concerns about nutrient buildup in soils and nutrient losses that can impact water and air quality. This Introductory Guide focuses on fertilizer BMPs: applying the right source at the right rate, at the right time, and in the right place.


(938 KB)

Suggested Practices for Semiarid North Dakota
By Tom Jensen, Adrian Johnston, David Franzen, and Jon Stika

We are hearing a lot about best (beneficial) management practices (BMPs) these days. Much of this interest in BMPs for agriculture is the increasing awareness that how we manage our soils and landscapes can have a large impact on the surrounding environment. As stewards of the land, northern Great Plains farmers have implemented soil conservation practices that exceed many other resource conservation activities in North America. The resulting reduction in wind and water erosion and moisture conservation have improved soils, and increased crop yields and whole-farm economics.


(1.6 MB)

Fertilizer Nitrogen BMPs to Limit Losses that Contribute to Global Warming
By C.S. Snyder

The right fertilizer N management decisions in producing corn and other crops can help reduce the impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global warming potential. These fertilizer best management practices (BMPs) can go a long way toward making the most of applied N, for economic benefit as well as environmental.


(3.6 MB)