Abstract:
Lack of micronutrients in soil is very common in China. Continuous application of chemical fertilizers in large quantity leads to accumulation of nitrogen and phosphorous in soils exaggerates the unbalance and deficiency of micronutrients, in some areas, micronutrient deficiency even causes the mal-micronutrition of human beings. Applying micronutrient fertilizers is an effective measure to alleviate micronutrient deficiencies of crops. The large-scale and systematic research and application of micronutrient fertilizers in China began in the 1970s. Up to now, the micronutrient fertilizer products in Chian have gone through the development from merely traditional inorganic salts to various types including chelating, slow/control-release, and nanoparticle micronutrient fertilizers. And the application methods are continuously optimized with the innovation of micro-fertilizer products. Micro-fertilizer has been promoted to almost all crop types. As of mid-April 2024, the 31 provincial-level administrative regions in the mainland of China, except Xizang, have all recorded micronutrient water-soluble fertilizer products, Shandong and Henan province have the largest number of records, accounting for 29.7% and 26.2% of the records in whole country, respectively. The annual number of applied patents relating to micronutrient fertilizers and preparation methods has rapidly increased since 2011, reaching a maximum of 67 pieces in 2016. However, the micronutrient fertilizers, including those containing micronutrients, that registered and recorded in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China are dominated by water-soluble complex fertilizers in liquored and powdered dosages. In the actual production, quite a lot of local agricultural technicians and users do not have enough and academic knowledge about the function and effect of micronutrients, they distrust micronutrient fertilizers if without immediate and visible effect. The micronutrient fertilizer products in the market are not selectable in dosages, and lack of specificity, impacting on the application and promotion of micronutrient fertilizers. From the actual quo of China, more works should be done in very recent future, firstly is to coordinate the comprehensive balance between micronutrients and macronutrients that is suitable for "region-soil-crop" system; continuously innovate the product dosages and supporting application technologies required by the trendy simple and less fertilization technology that is promoting across China; strengthen the popularization of micronutrient knowledge and the necessaries of using micronutrients in the intensive crop production systems at grassroots levels. In addition, more attention on the market supervision and product standard system of micro-fertilizers still need paid. In one word, an integrated action on micronutrient fertilizer should be promoted regrading to “production-academic research-marketing supervision-application”, for the healthy development of China's micronutrient fertilizer industry.