2016: Nutrient Expert® Development and Assessment

Objectives:
(1) to develop, test, and refine new versions of Nutrient Expert® (NE) for new crops and new geographies (maize in sub-Saharan Africa, rice in China and India, soybean in China, wheat in North Africa and maize with different variety types in the Philippines),
(2) conduct field trials and build agronomic database for non-cereal crops (i.e. cassava, cotton), and
(3) to initiate development of ICT based tools to help in the dissemination of the field-validated versions of NE.

Timeline:
Implemented since 2011.

Treatment overview:
The Nutrient Expert (NE) for Hybrid Maize has been adapted for maize growing conditions in South Asia, China, and Africa. Nutrient Expert for Wheat has been developed for South Asia and China and released after two years of field-testing and evaluation by regional IPNI and local partners. Field validation and refinement of beta versions continued -- NE maize for sub-Saharan Africa, NE rice for China and India, NE soybean for China, and NE wheat for Morocco. NE recommendations are tested against local recommendations and farmer’s fertilizer practices (FFP)

Results to date:
(1) There are now 10 field-validated versions in four IPNI regions across Asia and Africa, which are available for download at software.ipni.net. In 2016, we completed field validation of three NE tools – NE Rice India, NE Soybean China, and NE Maize Kenya and Zimbabwe. A tool is considered field-validated after it has been demonstrated effective in improving farmers’ yields and profits or maintained farmers’ high yields but improved their fertilizer use efficiency (i.e. case of China).
(2) Five NE tools are undergoing field validation – NE Wheat North Africa, NE Soybean India, NE Maize Nigeria, NE Hybrid Maize Ethiopia, NE Hybrid Maize Tanzania.
(3) In 2016, field-testing of NE Maize Philippines for hybrid and OPV increased farmers’ yields and profits through optimal application of N, P, and K. The Department of Agriculture Bureau of Agricultural Research launched the tool in 2016.
(4) All field-validated (Version 1.0) as well as beta versions have been ported into a Web app version, which is compatible with different ICT platforms including Android. The Web app version is also capable of automatic data capture and storage.

Summary:
NE has been demonstrated to increase yield and profit of farmers in India, Indonesia, Kenya, and the Philippines and increased fertilizer N use efficiency in China through tailored balanced nutrient management.