Bio-injection system goes straight into the potato ridge

Cambridgeshire firm Standen Engineering is offering a bio-injection system for potatoes through specialist contractor and machinery manufacturer Target Set Technology.

See also: Standen adds lighter models

Called Side Ridge Injection (SRI), it allows bio-products, nutrients and fertiliser to be injected at 8-10bar pressures directly to the roots of growing potato plants through profiled injectors.

The company says that potato cyst nematodes can be controlled by injecting a garlic-based liquid product directly into the potato ridges. The injection process is also said to disrupt nematode connections to the plant’s root system.

A combination of calcium and zinc elements can also be used at key timings and benefits have apparently been seen in the control of internal rust spot and hollow heart. The crop also gets an aeration boost as the injection system passes through the potato ridges.

Direct injection of liquid fertiliser can also be used, giving better timeliness, and the company claims that injecting five to eight weeks later than usual can contribute to yield increases.

Moreover, injecting liquid fertiliser at emergence after the usual application time, but with a 30% reduction in fertiliser, showed an 8% increase in yield.

The ability to add phosphate to help increase tuber numbers is another potential benefit of the SRI injection system, says the company.

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