“There is no such thing as a free lunch.”
“There is no such thing as a free lunch,” that’s how Associate Professor, School of Agriculture and Food, The University of Melbourne’s Rob Norton sees crop nutrition. Dr Norton will explain his reasoning at BCG’s Trials Review Day on Friday the 24th of February at the Birchip Leisure Centre. Register at bcg.org.au/events
Phosphorus
“With nutrients, particularly phosphorus [P], you have to replace what’s gone out the gate otherwise soil P reserves run down, and this is often one important part of soil fertility,” Dr Norton explains. His presentation Crop Nutrition Post 2022 will cover three simple strategies growers can use in 2023 after the high nutrient uptake year of 2022.
Dr Norton believes knowing the phosphorus balance after several high uptake years will be important in 2023: “As we lead into the cropping season, take a good look at your P strategy. With some bumper crops over the last few seasons, it’s likely that P has been “mined”. Going in to 2023, take an estimate of what P has been applied and what P has been removed over the past four or five years. Surveys we did eight years ago showed that—even with modest yields around that time—60 percent of paddocks we looked at were in P deficit over four years. At BCG’s event, I will discuss how a P balance, linked to a good soil test will help define a long-term strategy for growers to adopt.”
Nitrogen variability
Dr Norton said the last three year of La Nina, coupled with the widespread flooding experienced, is likely to have caused another challenge: nitrogen variability. “Waterlogged areas will be low in nitrogen. Areas not waterlogged are also likely to be low due to high uptake by plants. Growers are likely to see high variability across paddocks particularly in the dune and swale landscapes of the Mallee. At BCG’s Trials Review Day I’ll lay out an easy strategy to help growers determine the extent of nitrogen variability to inform how best to combat it.”
Lastly Dr Norton will discuss why “there are no silver bullets when it comes to nutrition” and outline the proven strategies growers can implement on farm for good crop nutrition. “Each farmer and business is different so it’s hard to talk economics, but I will talk principles and strategies so that every farmer can apply them to get the results for which they are aiming.”
Register for BCG’s Members’ Only Trials Review Day at bcg.org.au/events or call (03) 5492 2787. Memberships can also be purchased online at bcg.org.au/memberships or by calling the number above. BCG’s Seasonal Results Compendium will be launched on the day. Remember to download your copy prior to the event. The National Centre for Farmer Health will also be in attendance to undertake health checks throughout the day.