asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will take steps to encourage farmers to reduce the use of nitrates;(2) what guidance his Department issues to farmers on the use of nitrates.

So as to ensure the efficient use of nitrates and other nitrogenous fertilisers while reducing as far as practicable the risks of pollution, farmers are encouraged by my Department to restrict application of such fertilisers to those times when the crops can utilise the nitrogen. Autumn and winter applications should therefore be avoided unless there is a specific crop requirement.907

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has as to the amount of nitrates used on farms in each of the last 10 years, and the purposes for which it was used.

The table gives the amount of all forms of nitrogen applied by farmers in England and Wales as inorganic fertiliser (straights and compounds) in each of the years 1974–75 to 1983–84:

	'000 tonnes plant food
1974–75	787·5
1975–76	850·8
1976–77	879·0
1977–78	924·0
1978–79	941·0
1979–80	1,031·0
1980–81	1,100·0
1981–82	1,180·0
1982–83	1,227·0
1983–84	1,316·0

The Survey of Fertiliser Practice, compiled jointly by the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service, the Fertiliser Manufacturers Association and Rothamsted experimental station, contains details of fertiliser use. The following information is taken from the latest edition (1983) and relates to average nitrogen applications:

All nitrogen use on tillage and grass 1974–83 (overall kg/ha) England and Wales
	Tillage	Grass	All crops and grass
1974	85	94	91
1975	86	99	94
1976	96	98	97
1977	99	110	105
1978	104	113	107
1979	112	117	114
1980	121	119	120
1981	135	125	130
1982	141	123	132
1983	154	125	139

In 1984 the average application on all crops and grass amounted to 147 Kg N/ha.