THE NUTRIENT BUFFER POWER CONCEPT FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE BY K.P. PRABHAKARAN NAIR [HARDCOVER]

The Nutrient Buffer Power Concept, a revolutionary soil testing procedure developed and tested for over more than three decades in European, African and Asian soils, looks at soil testing to devise appropriate and accurate fertilizer recommendations for many field crops, such as, summer rye, wheat, and maize among cereals, red gram among pulses, white clover among fodder crops, and black pepper and cardamom among perennial crops, with a totally new perspective as compared to routine and "text book" methods of soil testing. The center piece of the concept is the accurate quantification of a soil nutrient's "buffer power," which is then integrated into routine soil test data to devise appropriate and accurate fertilizer recommendations. Dr. Nair has written an excellent and timely book on the nutrient buffer power concept, which he pioneered, and its role in agricultural sustainability. The book will be useful to scientists, students, and professionals in crop and soil sciences and allied fields. Donald L. Sparks S. Hallock du Pont Chair in Soil and Environmental Chemistry Francis Alison Professor, and Director, Delaware Environmental Institute There has been serious decrease in factor productivity on lands that ushered the "Green Revolution" because of unscientific soil fertility management. "Nutrient Buffer Power" is a novel approach for precise soil fertility management. I congratulate Dr Nair for sharing his lifelong experience in plant nutrition and soil fertility management through the remarkable book "The Nutrient Buffer Power Concept for Sustainable Agriculture" Mohan C. Saxena, Ph D (IARI), Dragr (Hohenheim), DrSci (hc) Former Professor of Agronomy and Director Research, GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology Former Assistant Director General, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas Indian agriculture, is at a cross roads. Highly extractive agriculture of the green revolution has run out of steam. Of the 328.73 mha of geographical area, in India, as much as 120.40 mha has degraded soils, a result of severe carbon depletion due to unscientific soil nutrient management still rooted in "text book" knowledge. Professor Nair's book comes as a breath of fresh air. Dr. Mangala Rai Vice-Chancellor G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarkhand and former Director General Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, India