Pakistan - Wheat production can be increased by up to 9% and fertilizer use can be reduced by up to 50% by using a seed-cum-fertilizer band placement drill, according to Dr. Khalid Iqbal, Assistant Director of the Department of Agriculture Extension Faisalabad. According to media reports, he said currently, over 550,000 tons of DAP fertilizer are used in wheat production to increase the fertility of phosphorus-deficient agricultural lands. This is putting a strain on the government's foreign exchange reserves, as DAP fertilizer is expensive to import.

Dr. Iqbal explained that the current method of applying DAP fertilizer, which involves spreading it on the ground after preparing the land, has two drawbacks. First, it is impossible to evenly spread the fertilizer across the entire field. Second, the fertilizer remains in the top two to three inches of soil, while the roots of the wheat plants are mostly deeper down. This means that the plants cannot fully absorb the nutrients in the fertilizer. Dr. Iqbal said that the common seed drills available in the market do not apply the fertilizer 5 cm deep and 5 cm apart, which is necessary for optimal crop growth. He added that using a seed-cum-fertilizer band placement drill can help to achieve both higher yields and fertilizer savings of up to 50%.

How a Seed-Cum-Fertilizer Band Placement Drill Works. A seed-cum-fertilizer band placement drill is a machine that places the fertilizer in a band below and to the side of the seed. This allows the roots of the wheat plants to easily access the nutrients in the fertilizer.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)