Supporting Crops Through Nutrient Management Planning.
Harvest marks the end of one crop year and now is a great opportunity to review what has and hasn’t worked, and start making plans for the next crop.
To optimise nutrient use efficiency I always talk about the 4 R’s. Choosing the right product, using it at the right rate, applying it at the right time, and ensuring it goes in the right place. Soil testing is the starting point for this whole process and provides vital information for determining your whole crop nutrition management plan.
Why Soil pH Matters.
A basic soil analysis will give you P, K, Mg and pH. This is the minimum legal requirement in England. Doing the basics well is paramount to being successful no matter whether you are on an agricultural field or a sports field. When it comes to soils this is pH. The soil pH level can have a huge impact on nutrient availability. Phosphorus for example has a very narrow band where optimum availability is achieved from the soil. If this is not corrected when pH is low you are literally burning money as a proportion will be locked up instantly. Conversely whilst you cannot alter a high pH soil you can then look at alternative solutions to improve phosphorus availability for example including OMEX Polymex with your Multiflo fertiliser.
Multiflo
Unlock More Value from Your Soil Analysis
One of the largest costs associated with soil analysis is the time taken to gather the sample itself, so why not get as much information as possible from that bag of soil. There are a number of factors that impact nutrition availability, a broad-spectrum soil analysis can highlight some of these. For example, the levels of other nutrients in the soil, Sulphur for example is vital for improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency, many crops still do not receive sulphur applications despite deposition being almost non-existent, and soil deficiency increasing.
Why Soil Organic Matter Matters
The soil organic matter status also has an impact on nutrient availability. Many UK arable soils are hovering around 2-3% organic matter however those soils nearer 5% have the ability to store and then release more nutrients. Hence the drive to increase soil organic matter levels by the chopping of straw, and application of manures/composts/etc.
Again, if you have the soil, why not measure this too?
There are a number of other things that could be analysed this time of year to help support your nutrient management planning. This include grain analysis which is a great way of establishing the grain nitrogen sulphur ratio to ensure your sulphur strategy is correct. There may be a need to utilise a Nitroflo product with a higher sulphur content.
If you are removing straw given the dry weather it could be worth testing a representative sample as given how pink some of the straw is this could be removing more potassium that the book figures. It goes without saying that any applications of manures/organic materials should be analysed so you know what you are putting back into the system. This full process enables you to decide what you need extra if anything to grow a crop to its full potential.
The old saying if you don’t measure it, you cannot manage it rings true once again.
