Strategic researches of reducing fertilizer use and increasing use efficiency in China in the new era

In China’s agricultural production, excessive fertilization is common, fertilizer use efficiency is relatively low, with varying degree of resource waste and environmental pollution. A series of action plans have been promoted by the Chinese government for reducing chemical fertilizer use and improving the use efficiency, and basically achieved the goal of “the Action Plan for Zero Growth in Fertilizer Use” during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. However, the theoretical research and technical innovations are still insufficient for the efficient and environment-friendly application of chemical fertilizers. Hence, the extension and demonstration of new technologies are fully ongoing across the whole country, and the relative policies and regulations are still evolving. Now, the action of fertilizer reduction and efficiency improvement in China has entered a critical period. Compared with the successful international experiences, we summarized the achievements and gaps in previous works on fertilizer reduction and efficiency improvement in China. Following the national strategic guidance and great specific action plans for the promotion of fertilizer reduction and use efficiency increase in the new era, adhering to the principles of “Precision, Efficiency, Green and Intelligence”, and full consideration of the specific agricultural conditions of China, we proposed strategic suggestions for the realization of the goals of national food security and ecological environment security.