PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Marie K. Thompson
DATE: July 30, 2001
IFDC
Conducts Workshop on Phosphate Rock in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia—"A large proportion of the arable land in the
tropics and subtropics is moderate to strongly acid," says Dr.
S. H. Chien, IFDC Senior Soil Chemist.. " Such soils tend to be
deficient in phosphorus, an essential macronutrient for plant
growth, and frequently possess relatively high phosphorus-fixing
capacity that can reduce the recovery rate of applied conventional
water-soluble phosphate fertilizers, especially for long-term crops.
Unless the problem of phosphorus deficiency is solved, these soils
will continue to present a serious constraint to increased crop
productivity and sustainable agricultural development."
Chien served
as program manager of a 1-week international meeting on the use of
phosphate rock for direct application and related appropriate
technology that was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during July
16-20, 2001. IFDC—in collaboration with the Malaysian Society of
Soil Science (MSSS), the Potash and Phosphate Institute (PPI) and
the Potash and Phosphate Institute of Canada (PPIC), East and
Southeast Asia Program (ESEAP)—conducted the workshop.
Attending the
meeting were 89 delegates from 33 countries, including Algeria,
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Egypt, England,
Ethiopia, France, Ghana, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel,
Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Morocco, New Zealand, Saudi
Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda,
Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The Director
General of the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA)—Mr.
Luc M. Maene—presented the keynote address. In his summary, Maene
remarked, "The use of phosphate rock is established in Brazil,
Colombia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, and
certain other countries. This demonstrates that the product can find
a niche where it has proved to be agronomically effective and
economically attractive."
Thirty-four eminent
national/international researchers made presentations and shared
their experiences.
The workshop met
its objectives, which included the following:
- To present and
discuss the latest agronomic research results on the use of
natural phosphate rocks and modified products as influenced by
sources of phosphate rock, types of soil, management practices,
and cropping systems.
- To gain updated
information on the production and the agronomic use of phosphate
rock from the phosphate rock producers, dealers, and users in
different countries.
- To provide an
international forum for an objective discussion on the potential
use of either indigenous or imported phosphate rocks for direct
application to increase crop production or lower crop production
costs in the future.
One alternative
solution to the use of expensive water-soluble phosphate fertilizer
is to directly apply suitable sources of phosphate rock, either
indigenous or imported, that can be effective—both agronomically
and economically—for crop production under certain soil, crop, and
climatic conditions. Although low-cost direct application of
phosphate rock has been commercially used in only a few countries,
e.g., Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, Colombia, and New Zealand among
others, much interest has been generated on the agronomic use of
phosphate rock during the past 15-20 years. Despite hundreds of
published research papers and several national/international
conferences, there is still lacking a general consensus on the
agronomic use of phosphate rock because conflicting results are
still being reported.
It is now
recognized that effective use of phosphate rock for direct
application requires a better understanding of the complex cropping
systems involving interactions among variables of phosphate rock
sources, soil properties, crop species, and management practices. It
is also known that under certain conditions, e.g., reactivity of
phosphate rock too low, soil pH too high, etc., direct application
of phosphate rock does not give satisfactory results. Modification
of phosphate rock such as partial acidulation or dry compaction/wet
granulation of phosphate rock with water-soluble phosphate
fertilizers has also been suggested as alternative means of
producing economically and agronomically effective phosphate
fertilizers from indigenous phosphate rock resources that may
otherwise be unsuitable for direct application.
IFDC plans to
publish proceedings of this workshop; the publication will be
announced in the IFDC Report, a biannual newsletter, and, here, on
the IFDC web site.
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