© Associated Asia Research Foundation (AARF) A Monthly Double-Blind Peer Reviewed Refereed Open Access International e-Journal - Included in the International Serial Directories. Page | 16 BUDGETING PLANT NUTRIENTS FOR OPTIMUM CROP YIELDS AND SOIL FERTILITY MANAGEMENT M. Usman Department of Agricultural Science Education Federal College of Education (Technical), Potiskum- Yobe State, Nigeria ABSTRACT A nutrient budget takes into account all the nutrient inputs on a farm and all those removed from the land. The most obvious source of nutrients in this situation is fertilizer, but this is only part of the picture. Other inputs come with rainfall, in supplements brought on to the farm and in effluent - either farm or dairy factory - spread on the land. In addition, nutrients can be moved around the farm - from an area used for growing silage to the area used to feed it out, from paddock to raceway, and within paddocks in dung and urine patches. In this paper, nutrient budget is discussed as a useful management tool that quantifies the amount of nutrients imported to and exported from a system. Nutrient budget is an important tool for effective crop yields and soil management. The paper therefore recommends among others that nutrient budgeting is a way of helping land owners choose and implement best management practices (BMPs) that will reduce the likelihood of nutrient surpluses, while maintaining soil productivity. Having a balanced nutrient budget for an agricultural production will help to avoid unnecessary production costs and greatly reduce pollution potential from surplus nutrients. Key Words: Budgeting, Nutrients, Crop Yields and Soil Management International Research Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences ISSN: (2349-4077) Impact Factor- 5.46, Volume 5, Issue 2, February 2018 Website- www.aarf.asia , Email : editor@aarf.asia , editoraarf@gmail.com