Fertiliser placement back for potatoes
Fertiliser placement back for potatoes
A NEW technique for placing rather than broadcasting fertiliser onto pre-ridged potato beds has been jointly developed by Omex Agriculture and a farm contractor.
Robert Todd from Edlington, near Doncaster has reintroduced the technique to improve the timeliness and simplify the logistics of fertiliser placement.
The technique involves precision placement of suspension fertilisers into the potato beds after initial ridging and before stone separation. The fertiliser is left in bands below the de-stoning depth so the plants can access it when they start to grow
"The deep furrows associated with bed preparation make it difficult to travel and apply fertiliser evenly and conventionally spread fertiliser can end up in the bottom of the furrow," says Mr Todd. "By carrying out the fertiliser application before de-stoning, we can minimise delays experienced during combined planting and fertiliser placement, as well as eliminate ridge damage caused by fertiliser placement after planting."
Omexs agronomist Andy Eccles says the precision placement of suspension fertiliser into potato beds after initial ridging and before stone separation, can lift yields by over 12% compared with broadcasting. "Suspension fertilisers are twice as concentrated as solution fertilisers, so application using this novel technique effectively halves the fill time required, and suspensions are more flexible than solutions, offering growers the option to include elemental sulphur, magnesium and rooting stimulants, such as Rootboost, with the fertiliser applied," he says. *