January 20–21, 2026 – Board Member Meeting of the International Magnesium Institute and Annual Academic Symposium of the National Magnesium Network Held in Sanya were held in Sanya. The conference was organized by the National Academy of Agriculture Green Development of China Agricultural University (CAU) and the International Magnesium Institute of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU). Over 50 experts, scholars, and students from universities and enterprises, including CAU, FAFU, The University of Western Australia, and K+S Group (Germany), attended the meeting. Key attendees included Academician Fusuo Zhang from China Agricultural University, Professor Zed Rengel from The University of Western Australia, and Dr. Joska Gerendas, Professor at the University of Kiel and Chief Agronomy Consultant at K+S Group. The meeting was presided over by Professor Xuexian Li from China Agricultural University. Centered on the critical nutritional functions of magnesium and precise nutrient management, the conference systematically summarized the basic research and application progress of IMI and NMN from 2016 to 2025. It highlighted phase-based achievements in mechanism research, field application, industrial promotion, and science popularization, while further clarifying key tasks for the next stage.

The report identified a long-standing structural contradiction in China's major crop systems: high inputs of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, but insufficient magnesium application. This nutrient imbalance, combined with ongoing soil acidification, continues to increase the risk of crop magnesium deficiency. It is now a major bottleneck for the synergistic improvement of yield and quality. National-scale research, based on the analysis of 22,802 soil samples, revealed a high proportion of magnesium-deficient soils across China, with the deficiency rate exceeding 75% in South and Southeast China. Magnesium has therefore become a key limiting factor for improving crop quality and production efficiency. At the meeting, experts clarified the essential role and underlying mechanisms of magnesium in increasing yield, quality, and resource use efficiency from a mechanistic perspective. They presented green technical systems for comprehensive magnesium management in different crops from technical research and development perspective. They also introduced a series of new magnesium fertilizers and magnesium-containing green smart fertilizers from a product innovation perspective. Focusing on representative cropping systems such as honey pomelo, wax gourd, sugarcane, tea, citrus, and rice, the experts systematically summarized the effects of magnesium fertilizer on increasing yield, quality, and efficiency.  Results from a coordinated network conducted between 2017 and 2024, covering 15 provinces, 125 field sites, and 13 crop types, showed clear benefits. On top of optimized nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium management, magnesium supplementation increased yields by an average of 16.4%, with a range of 5.97 to 34.1%. Farmers’ income increased by approximately 20,300 RMB per hectare. Agricultural product quality and nitrogen use efficiency also improved significantly.

The International Magnesium Institute and the National Magnesium Network continue to advance the integrated model of "Research, Demonstration, Training, and Dissemination," forming a structured and efficient research framework. Over the past decade, they secured 26 magnesium-related projects from funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China They published 153 magnesium-related academic papers and 54 science popularization articles, and released 4 monographs, and 8 annual reports. These efforts positioned China as the global leader in soil plant magnesium nutrition research. Between 2016 and 2025, Chinese researchers contributed 36% of the top 100 most cited papers on soil plant magnesium nutrition indexed in the Web of Science. IMI and NMN accounted for 80% of these Chinese contributions. In addition, they organized 26 thematic conferences, including the 3rd International Magnesium Conference. The network conducted 1,947 field training and observation sessions and produced 174 science popularization videos, reaching nearly 100,000 people offline and about 8.08 million people online, effectively promoting the dissemination and application of plant magnesium nutrition knowledge. In terms of industrialization, the network collaborated with K+S group and multiple fertilizer companies to develop and apply more than 20 magnesium-containing fertilizer products. These products have been promoted across a cumulative area of 73.35 million mu (approx. 4.89 million hectares). The number of registered magnesium containing fertilizer products increased 13-fold increase from 2016 to 2024 compared with the previous decade. Magnesium nutrition has shifted from a "neglected element" to a scalable green crop production technology  and industrial solution for modern crop systems.

Looking ahead, the International Magnesium Institute and the National Magnesium Network will expand their focus from consolidating research and demonstration in cash crop systems to strengthening work in major field crops. Focusing on key tropical production regions such as Hainan Island, they will deepen research on the role and mechanisms of magnesium in critical processes like yield formation and quality regulation. They will also the strengthen the development and field demonstration of region specific nutrient recommendation schemes. At the same time, they will advance the improvement of standard systems, enhance knowledge dissemination, and expand international cooperation, with a strategic focus on Global South. Relying on the "Going Global" initiative of Science and Technology Backyards, they aim to share replicable Chinese experiences and nutrient management solutions with developing regions. These efforts will further enhance China’s international influence in magnesium nutrition research and practical application.