Increasing soil health and productivity of rice crops

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• The need

• What IRRI has done

• The impact

• How you can help

• Resources

A healthy soil ecosystem is needed for sustainable rice production. However, rice is very different from other crops because it is often grown in flooded fields where the soil is saturated for long periods of time.
What is unique with this system, as compared with other cropping systems without soil flooding, is the maintenance of soil organic matter. In addition, a flooded rice field is a favorable environment for nitrogen input through the biological fixation of atmospheric nitrogen gas by naturally occurring microorganisms.
However, both soil nutrients and organic matter must still be properly managed to sustain good yields through time.
Moreover, fertilizer often represents the highest input cost for rice farmers after labor, accounting for about 20% of the total cost of production. Soil nutrient knowledge can guide the development of practical tools to help farmers increase rice production and reduce costs through smart nutrient management.