Phosphate choice is key to early establishment

Growers will be keen to ensure crops are strong and can withstand winter weather given the difficulties of the previous growing season.

Early crop development is essential and a key nutrient for this is phosphate, which growers can apply before or immediately after drilling as part of a balanced nutrition programme.

Assessing deficiencies using a detailed soil analysis will help pinpoint areas that require the nutrition. But growers can use another test to inform their decisions, says Toby Ward, nutrition agronomist at Origin Fertilisers.

“Undertaking grain nutrient analysis will measure nutrient offtake in the previous season and indicate where hidden deficiencies could lie, while providing a cross reference for soil analysis.

“A detailed soil analysis will indicate what should be available to the plant, while a leaf analysis shows the status of the crop at a given point, but a grain nutrient analysis provides the final outcome.”

Widespread deficiency

Growers can use this information to target nutrition inputs, maximising any spend on fertiliser this season.

Some 86% of grain samples analysed by ADAS in 2020 showed nutrient deficiencies –and phosphate was by far the most deficient of all nutrients. Over 50% of samples revealed a lower level than the target Index 2.

This is a concern because deficiencies can go unnoticed and worsen over time if they aren’t addressed correctly through targeted prescription applications. Phosphate promotes crop establishment and is part of a balanced nutrition plan.

“Grain analysis offers growers a much clearer insight into how much phosphate was taken up by the plant and where potential deficiencies might be,” says Mr Ward.

“Given the importance of phosphate to early establishment, choosing a grain nutrient analysis will support applications to the right fields and area of the farm, maximising the investment in nutrition.”

A grain nutrient analysis can also reveal other nutrient deficiencies, and over 25% of the samples analysed by AHDB were low in manganese, which highlights the importance of micronutrient applications on a yearly basis.

Using prescription nutrition to improve these indices will support crop growth throughout the season.

Preventing lock up

Between 75-95% of the phosphate fertiliser applied will become unavailable to the plants through lock up, and its lack of mobility means plants need to search for it.

One change that should be considered by growers is to increase the availability of phosphate by applying a protected product, such as Origin Enhanced Phosphate (OEP).

The main reason for lock up is due to soluble phosphate being negatively charged and becoming rapidly fixed by positively charged calcium, magnesium, iron and aluminium, which makes it unavailable.

This is heightened when soil pH is too high or low, or in heavy soils. The upshot is that although plants require the nutrient for early development, its lack of mobility and availability restricts young crops from accessing it.

But changing to a phosphate fertiliser that prevents lock up and maintains a greater supply for the young plants should be of high consideration this season.

“A protected phosphate, such as OEP, contains Avail – a phosphate fertiliser enhancer on each granule – that starts to dissolve when the granule contacts moisture,” says Mr Ward.

“It attracts the positively charged ions, preventing them from binding with the phosphate as it dissolves, effectively acting as a shield. The result is the soluble phosphate released by the granule is fully available for the growing crop.”

OEP is available as TSP and DAP fertilisers, as well as any P, K blends, to provide crops with targeted nutrition to support early development. It has been shown to reduce phosphate fixation by up to 15%, offering a better return from phosphate fertilisers.

Further independent research by Harper Adams University College showed a 40% increase in root mass after three weeks where OEP with Avail protected technology was used.

Reliable service

As attention turns to drilling following harvest, ensuring that any nutrition ordered for post drilling applications will be on farm, when you require it, will be down to relying on trusted suppliers with continued access.

“Using a supplier that has experience of the region, and an established supply network to cater for growers in the area, will be key,” says Mr Ward.

Growers need to rely on established fertiliser production facilities with the ability to supply the right crop nutrition to farms as they require it.”

Origin’s production facility at Great Yarmouth caters for growers across the region –enabling  prescription nutrition to match field and farm requirements. The site is capable of dispatching over 1,000t per day in peak season to support growers.

How to collect a true sample:

Growers planning to take grain nutrient analysis to support nutrition decisions should use clearly labelled buckets to collect grain from individual trailers that correspond to specific fields before the grain reaches the store.

Taking the sample once the trailer is tipped can lead to grain from other fields being included and, therefore, limiting the opportunity for benchmarking, says Toby Ward, of Origin Fertilisers.

“This is essential if growers want true information down to a field-by-field basis. When the combine is harvesting a specific field, each trailer should be sampled by taking two cups of grain and adding it to the bucket.

“Once the field is completed, the sample can be mixed before filling a sample bag to be sent away for the analysis.”

Completing grain nutrient analysis in this way – along with with the correct details – will offer growers an accurate and precise way to record exactly how the crop has performed this season.

It accounts for all inputs and will support decision to change these for the following season,” says Mr Ward.