Comparison of fertilizer use efficiency in grain production between developing countries and developed countries

The investigation of chemical fertilization intensity (FI) and efficiency can provide basal data for decision-making in food production and environmental impact assessments of fertilization. The present study aimed to compare trends of the FI and efficiency during 1961-2018 in developed and developing countries using a simple method.

The FI in China increased rapidly from approximately 5 kg ha^-1 in 1961 to the highest value of 282 kg ha^-1 in 2014, and then decreased to approximately 231 kg ha^-1 in 2018. Although the fertilizer allocation efficiency (FAE) showed a slight downward trend, a slight upward trend was observed for fertilizer integrated efficiency (FIE). FIs in India, Iran and Turkey continuously increased from 5 kg ha^-1 in 1961 to 116, 49(148 in 2006),120 kg ha^-1 in 2018, respectively, whereas FAEs showed a significant fluctuation around horizontal direction or downward trends and their FIEs showed a slight fluctuation downward. The FIs of Britain, Germany and France, excluding USA, increased rapidly from approximately 200-400 kg ha^-1 in 1960s to peaks of 430-530 kg ha^-1 in 1980s, decreasing to 150-340 kg ha^-1 around 2010, and then increased to the current level of 200-350 kg ha^-1 , whereas FAEs and FIEs increased rapidly.

France and Germany were found to have moderate chemical fertilizer input and the highest FIE. Thus, their experiences of ecological agricultures in both countries could provide good examples for developing countries to follow. In brief, models of FAE and FIE are an easier way of reflecting fertilizer efficiencies in developed and developing countries. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.