Central/Eastern Europe: low input, what output?

- Central/Eastern Europe: low input, what output?

- The activities of IPI in Eastern Europe - a short overview

The use of mineral fertilizers in Central/Eastern Europe (CEE) is now so low that production could almost be called ‘organic’. Current N use is only half, and P and K a quarter, of the amount used in the pre-reform period. The reasons for this serious development are the collapse of the central command distribution system, lack of functioning market structure, unclear land titles, lack of credit and cash and, often, lack of knowledge.

Fertilizer consumption in CEE	Cereal yield in CEE in relation to fertilizer use
	data sources: FAO 2001

Running parallel with the trend in fertilizer use is the trend in crop production. With no change in the total area cultivated, cereal production decreased by 15% to 20% indicating a serious decline in yield. In the CEE, for example, cereal yields decreased sharply after the economic reform in 1991. Although yields recovered somewhat in subsequent years, it is obvious that year-to-year variation in cereal yields is much higher than in the pre-reform period. Cereals in CEE are mostly grown on less fertile, sandy soils which require a continuous flow of nutrients from external sources to sustain the nutrient demand of crops during growth. When this source falls short, yield variability increases.

Fertilizer use in CEE in relation to nutrient removal by crops	Nutrient balance in CEE (fertilizer use minus nutrient removal by crops)
data source: FAO 2001	data source: FAO 2001

As a general observation, fertilizer use in CEE during the pre-reform period exceeded nutrient removal by crops. Indeed, cases of excessive fertilizer use cannot be ruled out. As in other regions when economic constraints affect fertilizer use, potassium has been the hardest hit. Vostal reports from the Czech Republic that as overall fertilizer use has declined, nitrogen’s share of NPK use has increased. Farms using more than 100 kg/ha apply on average 75.6 kg/ha N, which represents about 64% of the total NPK. The share of N increases to 72-76% on farms applying between 50 and 100 kg/ha NPK and to 84% or 30 kg/ha N on those farms applying less than 50 kg/ha NPK. The smaller the farm and/or farm income, the more unbalanced fertilizer use becomes in favour of nitrogen. Vostal also points out that potassium cannot be adequately replaced by applying organic manure. Firstly, livestock production is in decline and, secondly, the quality of farmyard manure is lower, reflecting a decline in the quality of animal feed.

Post-reform K balance in Czech Republic
VOSTAL, 1996

Reports from different countries of CEE show that the content of exchangeable K in soils decreases over the course of time and, correspondingly, that the share of soils low in soil K increases. In the Czech Republic, for example, the content of exchangeable K decreased from 251 ppm in the early ‘90s to 230 ppm in the late ‘90s. (Cermak).

A similar trend is seen in Hungary. Current fertilizer use represents only 50% of N, 23% of P₂O₅ and 14% of K₂O of that used at the peak of fertilizer consumption before economic reform. Not surprisingly, the nutrient balance changed from positive to negative leading to substantial soil nutrient mining as a result. For N, the balance went down from +30 kg/ha to –30kg/ha, P₂O₅ from +24 kg/ha to –13 kg/ha and K₂O from +14 kg/ha to –28 kg/ha. The share of soils that have a low K status has increased from 15% to 20%.

However it is not only the yield and the profits which suffer when nutrient supply is inadequate, it is also the quality. Resistance to biotic and abiotic stress is particularly badly affected by low soil K. IPI experiments in India show that potatoes grown on soils with adequate K are much more resistant to late blight, a disease common also in Eastern Europe and Russia. There is a wide range of pests and diseases which can be controlled to a certain extent by using appropriate amounts of potash in relation to N and P. More information is available in the IPI Research Topics No. 3 on “Potassium and Plant Health” by S. Perrenoud.

Effect of Potassium on late blight in potato
IPI Coordinator, India, 1998

Abiotic stress refers to the impact of drought, heat, frost or soil borne-factors, such as salinity, on the development of plants. Large parts of Eastern Europe are covered with fairly light textured soils. Dry spells and thus drought stress are common. Experiments in Poland with the cereal, triticale, showed that drought cut yield by 54% when K supply was inadequate. Where K₂O had been applied at the rate of 100 kg/ha, drought lowered yield by only 17% indicating a significant strengthening of drought resistance. Potassium in plants is known to affect the water balance by controlling stomata movement. Plants with adequate K close their stomata as soon as desiccation begins and thus hold on to their water content more effectively. Early wilting is a good indicator of K deficiency. Furthermore, higher soil K content after potash application compensates, at least partially, for lower K mobility as the soil dries out.

Soil erosion is a major problem for Slovakia. Dr Stanislav Torma of the Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute in Bratislava reports that 55% of agricultural soils in Slovakia, (more than 1.3 million ha) is endangered by erosion. Results indicate that between 5-12 kg K₂O/ha is washed away in the 2.65 Mt of soil that are lost annually. This aggravates the increasing imbalance in soil nutrients. Until 1990, the simple nutrient balance (nutrients applied in mineral fertilizers and farm manure, less nutrients removed in harvested crops) was mostly positive. After 1990, when mineral fertilizer consumption fell dramatically, the balance became negative. A decade later, the absolute difference is almost 90 kg/ha. In Slovakia, as elsewhere, it is potassium that has borne the brunt of neglect. Present consumption is 5.5% of that in 1990 and three times more potassium is now being removed from the soil than is being applied in fertilizers. Again, as elsewhere, the quantity of organic manure available has also declined. Over the last decade the number of cattle has dropped from 1.6 million to 700,000 and the number of sheep and pigs has dropped to half its previous level. As Dr Torma points out, information about nutrient balances is important not only for farmers but also for economists and ecologists.

Alleviation of drought damage in triticale with potash	Potassium balance in agricultural soils in Slovakia 1989-2000
	TORMA, 2001