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Soil Fertility group focuses on optimizing fertilizer requirements
of newly developed genotypes of various crops under
diversified environments, as well as determining their nutritional status. Another area of research involves development
and optimization of efficient fertilizers to economize crop
production on alkaline calcareous soils.
Ongoing Research
Activities
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Enhancing the productivity of rain-fed crops through foliar fertilization
and the application of stress mitigating hormones
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Evaluating
the effect of super absorbent polymer (SAP) on fertilizer use
efficiency and productivity of crops under water-deficit and
nutrient-deficient conditions
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Evaluating the effect of soil and foliar applied selenium to
produce
selenium
bio-fortified wheat
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Evaluating
the status of lithium and selenium in soils and corresponding
wheat grains in different agroecological zones
Research
Achievements
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Developed
compost and biofertilizer for use in nursery plants and field crops
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Developed
100% water soluble, acidic NPK fertilizer for maize, tomato and
citrus production under drip irrigation system
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Optimized
the use of pressmud on salt-affected land as an alternate to
phosphate fertilizer for enhancing wheat productivity
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Optimized
foliar application of micronutrient cocktail for simultaneous
micronutrients (zinc, iron, selenium and iodine)
biofortification of cereals
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Produced
low-cost potato dextrose medium for fungal isolation and mass
multiplication
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Prepared compost using organic waste materials
Future
Directions
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Development
of selenium coated urea and evaluating its influence on
selenium biofortification and crop productivity
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Development
and evaluation of fortified potassium-nitrogen humate for
improving soil health and crop productivity
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Development of nutrient-enriched pelletized compost through quick
bio-composting of agricultural and industrial residues
Funded Projects
PSF/NSLP/P-NIAB
(995) Project titled “Evaluating the selenium (Se) status of soils
in Punjab and production of Se bio-fortified wheat to combat Se
deficiency in humans”, 2023-2026 (PKR 4.06 Million)
Collaborations
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Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) of UN
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Sabanci
University, Turkey
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Kiel
University, Germany
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Punjab
Agricultural Research Board (PARB)
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Pakistan
Science Foundation (PSF)
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Higher
Education Commission (HEC)
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Pakistan
Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS)
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University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF)
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PMAS Arid
Agriculture University, Rawalpindi
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