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Boosting oilseed rape establishment
Date added: 13/06/09 |
Getting your oilseed rape crop off to a good start is vital if you are going to grow a high yielding and profitable crop and the national distributor ProCam have been working with a new fertiliser concept that appears to boost rape establishment.
Nick Myers of ProCam has no need to point out that many oilseed rape growers had a particularly difficult season to establish and manage the crop. “Whatever method was used to establish and drill the crop, there have been problems from day one. But we believe that a new approach to fertiliser applied at drilling can really make a positive impact on establishment and rooting.”
“Trials using a microgranulated Starter Fertiliser, Umostart Super Zn, at drilling has promoted early growth and development, both above and below the ground. Such products are designed to be placed very close to the rape seed at planting to provide high nutrient concentration around the seed. This has the effect of boosting seedling growth and aiding rapid and vigorous crop establishment and canopy development – in other words it gives the crop a good start. It does so particularly when soils are cold, wet or dry or where straw has been incorporated,” says Nick.
He explains that Umostart Super Zn is formulated as fine rounded, uniform granules about half the size of traditional fertiliser and contains Nitrogen and Phosphate, in a composition of 11.50.0 plus 1Zn. “These granules are 0.5 to 1mm in diameter and this has necessitated the development of a new application system to accurately meter a band of Umostart immediately around the oilseed rape seed. Developed by TechNeat, the applicator is capable of fitting most seed application systems.”
“Getting the right combination of nutrients in the right formulations very close to the emerging seed has meant faster uptake, leading to faster seedling and root system development and a better established crop. This has lead to positive yield bonuses in trials in 2007 and 2008,” explains Nick.
Umostart Super Zn is applied at low dose rates of between 10-30 kgs/ha and is packed in easy to handle 10 kgs bags.
13th July 2009 |
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