Crop Nutrition
Working closely with leading crop nutrition experts in the UK, NuTrel Products, we have brought an extensive crop nutrition product range to Ireland to compliment the AquaClean PGPB products.
NuTrel products are available "off-the-shelf" in a wide range of standard formulations in soluble powder or liquid form - all of which provide a high degree of compatibility with agrochemicals.
We can also discuss specialised formulations to meet precise requirements for particular crops following soil, irrigation water and plant analysis. The Nu-Trel range is available in dry-flow or liquid form with both organic and inorganic products available.
The products supplied by Nutrel in a dry flow (powder) form Includes the Fastmix range (high analysis inorganic secondary and micro-nutrients), the Nutrifol range (high analysis macro-, secondary and micro-nutrients) and Micro-Boosters (specific nutrients to meet special requirements).
Nu-Trel’s range of liquid fertilisers Includes Nutrifast Liquids (inorganic macro-, secondary and micro-nutrients), Intrafol Liquids (stabilised liquid nitrogen with Calcium, Sulphur or Magnesium), and Nutrichel Liquids (complex and chelated liquids as single or multi-nutrient formulations).
As well as dry flow and liquid fertilisers, NuTrel has an extensive range of organic fertilisers derived from both fish or plant materials that target your required needs.
The following products are generally available:
Product |
Purpose |
Packs Available |
|---|---|---|
| Intrafol B-Evergreen Plus | Slow release liquid 18-6-6 +TE foliar for all crop types and sports fields | 10, 20, 200, 1000 litre |
| Intrafol B-Evergreen | Slow release liquid 28-0-0 for all crop types | 10,20,1000 litre |
| NutriFast Accolade Plus | Fast acting 14-7-7 +TE liquid foliar feed for all crop types | 10, 20 litre |
| NutriFast PhoStar | Fast acting phosphourous liquid foliar feed with Mg and Mn | 10, 20 litre |
| NutriChel CaB | Chelated Calcium and Boron in a liquid foloar feed | 10, 20 litres |
| FastMix K-Man Special | Multi-nutrient foliar applied with K, Mn, N and S. | 20kg |
| FastMix K-Mag | Multi-nutrient foliar applied with K, Mg, N and S. | 10kg |
| OptipHol | Spray tank conditioner to optimise the applciation of trace elements | 10, 20 litre |
More details are available on http://www.nutrelgroup.co.uk.
Crop Treatments:
All crops will have a different response to biology and a different nutrient requirement. This is obviously going to start with the soil, but we must also consider the types of organic nutrient available for deployment by the farmer.
The following is a summary of crops with which we have extensive experience, either in Nova Q or through our distribution partners NuTrel Products and BluePlanet Labs, and some insights into how they respond to our products.
We are happy to review crop programmes and soil analysis to give some recommendations on rates and timings. Contact us for more information.
Sugar Beet / Fodder Beet
Beet is, in our experience, the most responsive crop to biological treatment. There are 2 important applications:
Application 1 is with ACF-SR+ post ploughing and pre-sowing. The plant growth promoting bacteria and humic acid help with the availability of nutrient in the soil that aid even germination and establishment essential in beet.
Application 2 is with ACF-SR at 6th leaf stage. Ideally this is with B-Evergreen Plus (slow release 18-6-6 +TE) and NutriChel CaB – both NuTrel products – which ensures a super, deep green canopy, and efficient nutrient transfer.
Maize
Applications to maize tend to be limited by the growing technique and availability of suitable spraying equipment to get into a crop at as late a stage as possible. Maize nutrient requirement is mainly between knee high and shoulder high – meaning the nutrient needs to be applied between knee high and hip high (ideally both).
Maize responds well to bacteria and, whether growing under plastic or not, the phosphorous solubilising capability in the PGPB is usually evident in the rooting and establishment.
B-Evergreen Plus is superb on maize as the slow release nature applied at knee high ensures nutrient availability throughout the key growth stages.
Cereals
We work extensively with both winter and spring versions of wheat, barley, oats and rye, both conventional and organic.
The options here are too numerous to mention, but the rule we find is the worse the soil the better the response to ACF bacteria products. Not only do they improve the nutrient use efficiency, but they also help establishment and tillering. (See case studies or contact us for a copy of Independent Studies)
We have a wide range of NuTrel products that are excellent on cereals, but three worth mentioning: If you have Mg or Mn deficiency then K-Mag or K Man Special are excellent foliar sprays. Both have secondary nutrients and trace elements. Also, as with pretty well all other crops, B-Evergreen plus applied before flowering will ensure there is nutrient available for grain fill.
Baby Leaf and Salads
We have an extensive programme for baby leaf products, which all respond well to ACF bacteria treatments. As the crop is so fast, it is essential to use PGPB to optimise the nutrient use efficiency and plant health. We try to watch the nitrogen levels in these high value crops as too much nitrogen can lead to soft leaf and shorter shelf life, so addition of K-Mag or K-Man special (depending on soil) is great for strength and flavour. Nutrichel CaB is also a no-brainer for these crop types.
Also great is NuTrel’s organic fish blood and bone product from the Nugro range.
Potatoes
This crop type responds well to bacteria products but is a challenge due to the prevalence of fungicidal spray applied at such regular intervals. So, the only biological treatment applied is prior to or at planting. ACF-SR+ with both PGPB and humic is a great tonic to help establishment of the crop.
After that, there are a wide range of NuTrel products for Potato crops: Zinc DP for skin finish; NutriChel CaB for essential Calcium and Boron throughout the crop; K-Man Special which, apart from the Potassium and Manganese, is very high in Sulphur; B-Evergreen Plus to keep the leaf green for longer and promote photosynthesis.
Brassicas
Rooting is essential in Brassicas and the application of bacteria and humic ACF-SR+ and Phostar will help with this. There are a wide range of high sulphur products to help as the crop crows, particularly S10 and K-Man Special.
It is also advisable to use B-Evergreen Plus on OSR in the latter stages of the crop – it is such a good sticker it helps with pod-sticking, so important in maintaining yields.
Grassland
The biggest crop in Ireland is grass. For the most part, grassland is associated with livestock and the best way to optimise nutrient use is to optimise the organic fertilizer with ACF bacteria products. For more on this, see the section on slurry treatments under Agri Waste.
