Magnesium (Mg), an essential secondary macronutrient for plant growth and development, and its dose–response relationships

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the recommendations and stated research gap and stated challenges and abstract of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2025 and 2026, spanning 3 journals. Those papers have been cited 12 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 5 representative gaps

• Effect of Magnesium Foliar Fertilization on Hybrid Rice Grown in Lowland Soils of Tarlac (2026) · Agricultural Science · doi

  Farmers growing hybrid rice in lahar-laden soils of Tarlac and similar volcanic ash-affected lowland areas are strongly advised to adopt foliar application of Magnesium Sulfate (MgSO₄) at 75 g/L as their standard Mg fertilization practice. Among all treatments evaluated, MgSO₄ at 75 g/L (T8) produced the highest grain yield of 8.81 t/ha, representing a gain of 2.53 t/ha over the unfertilized control, and delivered the greatest economic returns, with a net income of PhP83,874 and a Return on Investment of 406%. These figures represent a 129-percentage- point advantage in ROI over the control treatment and a 75-percentage-point advantage over the best-performing MgCO₃ treatment at the same concentration. The superiority of MgSO₄ is attributed to the additional availability of Sulfur, a nutrient that is frequently deficient in flooded lowland soils and critical for protein synthesis and chlorophyll function. Applied three times at 25, 40, and 60 days after transplanting, this treatment is practical, cost-effective, and scalable for smallholder rice farmers. Future studies should evaluate this recommendation across multiple cropping seasons and in other lahar-affected municipalities to confirm its robustness and further optimize application timing.

  generalrecommendations
  Keywords: mgso treatment farmers rice lahar soils affected lowland application control percentage point advantage growing hybrid
• Effects of moderate magnesium application on rice milling quality, nutritional value and eating quality (2025) · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · cited 4× · doi

  The dose–response relationships between magnesium and crop yield and quality remain to be systematically characterized. There is a lack of understanding of the effects of magnesium application rates on rice yield components, milling quality, cooking/eating quality, and nutritional composition.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: dose response relationships between magnesium crop yield quality
• Effects of moderate magnesium application on rice milling quality, nutritional value and eating quality (2025) · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · cited 4× · doi

  One of the challenges is the lack of understanding of the optimal magnesium application rate for improving rice yield, processing quality, nutritional value, and palatability. Another challenge is the potential for magnesium deficiency in cultivated land, which can silently erode crop production potential.

  generalstated challengesevidence 5/5
  Keywords: one challenges lack understanding optimal magnesium application rate
• Synergistic effects of magnesium fertilisation and machine-transplanting density improve rice yield and grain quality (2026) · Plant, Soil and Environment · doi

  The paper identifies a gap in the understanding of the effects of magnesium fertilisation on rice yield and quality. It also highlights the issue of over-fertilisation and excessive nitrogen uptake by rice plants.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: paper identifies gap understanding effects magnesium fertilisation rice
• Effects of moderate magnesium application on rice milling quality, nutritional value and eating quality (2025) · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · cited 4× · doi

  Background Magnesium (Mg), an essential secondary macronutrient for plant growth and development, and its dose–response relationships with crop yield and quality remain to be systematically characterized.

  generalabstractevidence 4/5
  Keywords: background magnesium essential secondary macronutrient plant growth development dose response relationships crop yield quality remain

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