More attention to organic nutrition research and innovation of organic carbon fertilizers—A modern thinking about classic plant nutrient theory

Carbon is listed on the first of the 17 necessary nutrient elements for plants. For a long time, however, there is little researche on carbon nutrition, even worse on the role of organic carbon in supplementation of plant carbon requirement. Plants are capable of acquiring carbon nutrition from atmosphere through photosynthesis and transferred CO₂ to organic carbon compounds for physiological metabolism and growth, which could only meet about 1/5 of plant demand in theory, and plants often suffer from carbon hunger actually. Some researches have proved the supplementary C nutrition through fertilization an effective way for increasing yield and quality of crops. The production of efficient carbon-containing fertilizers has offered a new opportunity for modern fertilizer industry. The concept of organic nutrition is proposed in this paper, and the features and importance of organic C fertilizer and its application in balanced fertilization are discussed. Organic C might become the frontier of new fertilizer and modern plant nutrient theory in research and development.