The 2024 Academic Symposium of the National Magnesium Network (NMN) was held in Hefei, Anhui province, and over 60 participants attended the conference. The conference was divided into two parts: the first part focused on academic exchanges, while the second part discussed the difficulties and problems encountered in magnesium nutrition research, magnesium fertilizer production, and its promotion and application.

Professor Chunjian Li, Executive Deputy Director of the IMI and professor at China Agricultural University, chaired the conference. Key participants included Professor Shiwei Guo, Chief Scientist of IMI, Professor of Nanjing Agricultural University, Professor Xuexian Li of China Agriculture University, Dr. Yanliang Guo, Managing Director of Shenzhen K+S Trading Co.,Ltd, Dr. Rolf Eugen Härdter, Senior advisor on crop nutrition at K+S Group, as well as experts, researchers, and graduate students from NMN, magnesium fertilizer production, and its promotion.

The experts' report highlighted the research advancement in magnesium nutrition physiology and molecular biology, along with progress in the promotion and application of magnesium fertilizer in agricultural production. The conference also shared valuable insights and practices from Europe and Germany regarding the use and promotion of magnesium fertilizer in agricultural production. Furthermore, it provided a comprehensive summary of the achievements made by the collaboration network since the establishment of the NMN.

In the afternoon, participants focused on topics such as strategies for magnesium nutrition research for specific crops, the problems and challenges encountered in the promotion and application of magnesium fertilizer, and the potential solutions. In terms of scientific research, attendees were encouraged to continue innovative and basic research, learn from each other, and avoid low-level, repetitive research. For the promotion and application of magnesium fertilizer, the discussions emphasized the need to enhance outreach efforts targeting farmers, distributors, fertilizer production enterprises, and innovative publicity methods.

The conference not only allowed experts and scholars from all over the country to understand the frontier dynamics of domestic magnesium nutrition research deeply but also emphasized the importance of magnesium nutrition research in advancing China's green agricultural development strategy. It called for increased use of magnesium fertilizer in agricultural production to achieve improved productivity and environmental sustainability goals.