Crop and Pasture Nutrition

Crop and pasture nutrition centres on the supply, uptake and cycling of essential elements that underpin plant growth, yield quality and ecosystem health. Key macronutrients – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium – drive photosynthesis, root development and reproductive success, while secondary macronutrients (calcium, magnesium, sulphur) and micronutrients (zinc, iron, boron, manganese) play critical roles in enzyme function, membrane stability and hormonal signalling. Soil properties – texture, pH, organic matter and microbial activity – mediate nutrient availability and losses through leaching, volatilisation and fixation. Precision management approaches, including split or controlled-release fertilisers, soil testing and variable-rate application, optimise synchrony between nutrient supply and crop demand, reducing environmental footprints and enhancing resource use efficiency. In pasture systems, the integration of legumes leverages biological nitrogen fixation to support grass vigour and forage quality, while mixed swards promote complementary root architectures and canopy structures that improve nutrient capture and soil health. For livestock production, forage nutritional composition – protein content, fibre digestibility and mineral balance – determines animal intake, growth, milk and meat yields, with pasture management and species selection tailored to seasonal and climatic constraints. A holistic understanding of plant–soil–microbial interactions, alongside site-specific management, is essential to sustain productivity, conserve finite nutrient reserves and mitigate agro-environmental impacts.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Cost-effective mitigation of nitrogen pollution from global croplands identified a suite of eleven agronomic measures – including optimised fertiliser timing, rate and placement – that can collectively cut nitrogen losses to air and water by up to 70%, while boosting crop yields and nitrogen‐use efficiency by 10–80%. Widespread adoption of these practices could increase harvestable crop nitrogen by20% and reduce fertiliser requirements by one-fifth, delivering substantial societal benefits at low net cost. In parallel, matching soil extractable phosphorus to crop‐specific Olsen-P thresholds offers a path to sustain global phosphorus reserves. Analysis across major cropping systems shows that most fields lie below optimal productivity levels and that a capital application followed by maintenance doses aligned to crop removal can extend reserve lifetimes by decades, balancing agronomic performance with resource conservation.

Crop and Pasture Nutrition publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in crop and pasture nutrition across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE): The ratio of crop nitrogen uptake to total nitrogen applied, indicating the effectiveness of fertiliser use.

Biological nitrogen fixation: The microbial conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into plant-available ammonia within legume root nodules.

Olsen phosphorus: A soil test measuring plant-available phosphate in neutral to alkaline soils, often used to set fertiliser thresholds.

Phosphorus saturation degree (PSD): The proportion of reversibly bound soil phosphorus relative to total sorption capacity, guiding balanced fertiliser management.

Forage quality: The attributes of a pasture – protein content, fibre digestibility and mineral balance – that determine animal intake and productivity.

References

1. Cost-effective mitigation of nitrogen pollution from global croplands. Nature (2023).
2. Phosphorus applications adjusted to optimal crop yields can help sustain global phosphorus reserves. Nature Food (2024).
3. Mitigating nitrogen losses with almost no crop yield penalty during extremely wet years. Science Advances (2024).
4. The phosphorus saturation degree as a universal agronomic and environmental soil P test. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology (2023).