Grants to plant nutrition research projects

The Foundation’s orientation

• The foundation will shed light on important future issues regarding efficient production with responsible stewardship of the natural resources in soil and forests.
• The foundation will finance research into the environmental impact of plant nutrition and liming agents.
• The foundation must be a link between basic research and one- or several-year trial series.
• The foundation shall finance both basic research and applied research.
• The foundation must take a position on general issues and not individual company products.
• The foundation does not strive for any particular share to be allocated to land or forest.

The allocations’ focus and available funds

• The foundation’s funds can also be seen as supplementary money to the sums distributed by research councils or within EU projects.
• The foundation’s funds can be seen as support for field-related costs in connection with degree projects.
• The foundation would like the applicant to cooperate with other actors.
• The foundation’s available funds for the call for proposals in 2022 have been set at SEK 800.000.

The foundation has the greatest opportunity to benefit by supporting

• Larger applications within universities and research institutes with supplementary funds.
• Current field trials and pilot studies that run over one to several seasons.
• Literature reviews of previously known research.
• Knowledge compilations of previous attempts.
• Workshops that are in line with important and current issues of the future.
• Degree projects – as part of a larger research project under scientific supervision.

Requirements for communication

The applicant must set aside part of the grant for communication of the results. When the results are communicated, the Swedish Plant Nutrition Research Foundation must be mentioned as the financier.

The final report to the foundation must contain three parts

• A short popular science text that puts the results of the grant in a context within the foundation’s area of activity. The report may be published on www.ksla.se.
• A scientific report. It can be in the form of an article or manuscript submitted to or published in a scientific journal.
• A financial statement of the project.

Important future issues to work with

• The contribution of mineral fertilizers and lime to sustainable Swedish agriculture and forestry, preferably with a focus on possible domestic mineral fertilizers based on rock minerals or circulating sources of plant nutrition that can quickly become available.
• Crops’ needs for plant nutrition as well as fertilization strategies (e.g. quantity, timing, quality) as well as investigation of changes in efficiency from strategies with new or, for Sweden, different types of mineral fertilizers and lime.
• Climate effects and long-term soil fertility (e.g. carbon balances and micronutrients).
• Long-term fertility preservation and building of the soil’s productive capacity.
• Efficiency and availability of new or, for Sweden, different types of fertilizer and lime.

Application

The application takes place during the period 1 October to 1 November. As an applicant, you must register an account and log in to enter your application details and submit attachments in electronic form. Note that attachments must be in pdf format. Your application must be submitted by November 1 at the latest.

Notification

Submitted applications are reviewed and assessed by a special group consisting of seven experts in the field in question. The assessment takes into account sector relevance, subject area, goals, theory, hypothesis, scientific value, communication and the topicality of the subject.

Notification of approved applications is given during the month of December. You will then be notified if applications have been rejected, but no later than week 52. Decisions cannot be appealed.

Questions

Contact Linda Cederlund, secretary KSLA’s Agriculture Section and secretary for the Swedish Plant Nutrition Research Foundation. Email: linda.cederlund@ksla.se.

Reservation for changes.

Till utlysningen på svenska.

Photo: Rasbak [CC BY-SA 3.0]