CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS FOR THE REMEDIATION OF THE POOR ALLOCATION OF P AND K TO WHEAT CROPS IN ROMANIA

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to establish the main cause of the poor allocation of PK fertilizers to wheat crops, as this phenomenon has been observed in Romania. The experimental research consisted in differentiated allocation of fertilizers with N and the PK complex in order to create controlled nutrition deficits. It was conducted within the Didactic Station in Timisoara, from 2012 to 2014. Based on the yields obtained and on the associated economic elements, two scenarios were used: variation of wheat selling price and the price of fertilizers; each scenario had several variants. For each variant, the study assessed the optimal dose of N and PK respectively that resulted in the maximum profit. The model employed for this purpose was a model given by the production function verified by experimental data. The results were analysed and processed with SPSS and the graphic representations with Wolfram Alpha. The study discovered that the main cause of the Romanian farmers’ low interest in using PK fertilizers is the dissonance between the cost of PK fertilizers and the low market price of wheat. Given the current price of wheat - between 0.5 - 0.6 lei/ kg-1, the authorities have to adopt incentive pricing for PK fertilizers in order to stimulate the use of such fertilizers by Romanian farmers. These measures will result not only in better quality and quantity of the yield, but also in medium and long-term improvement of soil fertility.