Author(s): RONQUIM, C. C.

Summary: Global agricultural production will have to increase by 70% until 2050 to provide for the increasing food supply needed for a growing population, with growing revenues and a shifting, protein-based diet (FAO, 2017). This production will demand over 120 million hectares of agricultural lands, and must rely on sustainable agricultural intensification and productivity increase in areas which are already used for agricultural purposes. Singularities of tropical agriculture require detailed knowledge of chemical and physical properties of the soils, with the aim of properly using supplies and of adequately maintaining soils, to render more profitable productions. Thus, evaluating the chemical fertility of soils is essential to define adequate amounts and types of fertilizers, corrective dressings and management practices to be used, in order to maintain or recover soil productivity. The purpose of this publication is to introduce the main concepts involved in soil fertility, to relate them to the most adequate management practices for tropical regions, and thus offer an elementary resource for understanding the correlations between soil fertility concepts and agricultural productivity.

Publication year: 2021

Types of publication: Booklets

Unit: Embrapa Territorial

Keywords: Alternative agriculture, Fertilizer application, Soil amendment, Sustainability