UNL and IFA join forces against potassium deficiencies with ICL’s support

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) in collaboration with the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) has launched a comprehensive two-year project to address potassium deficiencies in global crop systems. This project, supported by ICL, a major player in the fertilizer industry, along with other key fertilizer companies, aims to create an extensive database of potassium levels in major crop systems worldwide.

Prof. Patricio Grassini from UNL is the principal investigator of this project. He points out the project’s contribution in enhancing crop production through better nutrient management and improved fertilizer recommendations, which will benefit farmers, researchers, policymakers, and the agri-food sector.

Walter Carciochi, UNL’s project coordinator, enumerates the variety of methods to diagnose potassium deficiencies that will be used in this project, including on-farm nutrient balances, soil and plant analyses, and potassium omission trials. The project will focus on main cropping systems in South and North America, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, where potassium limitations are suspected to limit crop yields and quality. He is contacting to leading researchers from the public and private sectors in multiple countries to compile the needed data to build the database.

Dr Achim Dobermann, IFA’s chief scientist and principal lead of the project, emphasizes the project’s broader implications for global crop yield improvements and new market opportunities for potassium fertilizers.

ICL’s contribution to this project is instrumental in enabling the development of a “traffic light” system that will indicate potassium deficiency levels in various regions. This innovative approach aligns with the project’s goal to compile a thematic database on potassium in crop production, accessible via the Crop Nutrient Data platform.

UNL and IFA welcome collaboration from various stakeholders (universities, research institutes, analytical labs and companies) and encourage sharing of potassium-related data to enrich this initiative.