Federated Farmers: Greener pastures

Spot the yellow, stalky square that was not drilled with fertiliser.

Pasture palatability and production are directly affected by the availability of key macronutrients in soils. Soils are complex mixtures of macro and micro nutrients, water, air, organic matter and countless soil organisms that combine to provide a medium that supports plant growth. However, plant growth and, more importantly, palatability will be reduced if any of these elements are below or above optimal levels.

The picture (right) illustrates the differences in pasture production and palatability when key macronutrients are below optimal levels in the soil.

The paddock in the foreground received a base fertiliser containing a mix of lime, magnesium, boron and zinc. The square of yellow, stalky, rank pasture is unproductive and was not drilled with fertiliser.

This unproductive pasture is surrounded by dark green high-performing pasture that was drilled with fertiliser.

The stalky square in the photo is because the farmer ran out of Viafos K-PluS fertiliser while drilling. K-PluS is Viafos' proven drilling fertiliser. K-PluS is a blend of Potassium (K), Phosphate (P) and Sulphur (S) in a non-acidic granule that does not harm, the all-important, soil biology.

The differences in pasture production seen in the picture, are due to; firstly, the availability of potassium (foremost), phosphorous and sulphur; and secondly because of the thriving soil biology.

Potassium is the macro-nutrient critical for setting up the nutrient transport system in a plant, which is vital for quick seedling establishment and plant development. In the photo, the highly productive pasture, that surrounds the stalky pasture, has higher available potassium which has improved the plants' ability to absorb nutrients.

When soil biology is thriving, nutrient uptake increases, meaning pasture palatably and production are improved. It is widely known that drilling with acidic fertilisers can burn seeds, but acidic fertilisers also create a low pH environment surrounding seeds and seedlings. At a low pH soils become biologically inactive and nutrient uptake is reduced, resulting in poor seed establishment and crop yields.

Furthermore, with thriving soil biology there is less reliance on N fertilisers. Soil biology has a central role in the nitrogen-cycle where it converts nitrogen from the atmosphere into plant available nitrogen.

Nitrogen enters the soil profile as N2 gas, NH3 in synthetic fertilisers or proteins in organic matter. Before any of this nitrogen is available for plant uptake it must go through mineralisation and nitrification: two processes that rely entirely on biological activity.

Worms, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and all microbes are involved in the breakdown (mineralisation) of organic matter that makes organic nitrogen available to plants. Whereas nitrifying bacteria convert inorganic (synthetic) nitrogen compounds to plant available nitrogen through nitrification.

A pea and barley crop that was grown without nitrogen.

Logically, increasing the rate of mineralisation and nitrification increases the amount of nitrogen that is plant available which in turn improves plant growth. As synthetic fertilisers have low pHs they reduce the efficiency of the nitrogen conversion processes because they harm soil biology.

K-PluS, like all Viafos products, is a non-acidic, natural product that provides key nutrients for plant growth and the development of soil biology.

The pea and barley crop, in the photo with Amy Duckworth, from Soil Matters - Soil Consultants, was drilled with K-PluS with no applied N. This proves that the application of N is not always necessary to grow bumper crops.

Viafos fertilisers decrease the reliance on synthetic N, increases the performance and palatability of your pasture and crop while reducing leaching and run-off. Use Viafos' K-PluS for better results.