Soil fertility describes soil nutrient status and the factors controlling the supply of nutrients to plants. Continued efforts to improve soil fertility are required to support the world's growing demand for food, fiber, and renewable fuels. Important ecological services provided by soils, such as biodiversity, buffering capacity, and nutrient recycling benefit from the amendments applied to sustain soil fertility. Those amendments need to be applied in a manner that is both economical and practical for the producer to achieve agronomic objectives that are environmentally sound. Integrated nutrient management is a goal for researchers, agronomists, and extension agents around the world. This is because nutrient management relies on developing plans.
