Practical Nutrient Management (Part 2)

ract|ca| Ut|||zat|on of Crgan|c Nutr|ent Sources

O eter te material is sewage, farm manure, or MS compost,
tere are five general principles for te ecologically sound
application of tese materials to te soil:
4 irst, te rate of application is generally governed by te
amount of nitrogen tat te organic matter will make
available to plants. Nitrogen is needed in te greatest
quantities by plants BUT excess nitrogen can lead to pollution.
4 Second, most of te nitrogen in organic sources is NOT
immediately available to plants. A small proportion may be
soluble (ammonium) forms BUT te bulk must be released by
microbial mineralization of organic compounds.
4 Tird, if a field is treated annually wit organic material, te
application rate needed will become progressively smaller
because, after te first year, te amount of nitrogen released
from materials applied in previous years must be subtracted
from te total to be applied afres.
4 or example, if you applied dairy manure (res solid), in a
given year, 35% of te nitrogen in tat application would be
mineralized te first year, 18% in year two, 9% in year tree,
and 4% in year four.
4 ourt, te nutrient and moisture contents of organic
amendments vary widely among sources and even batc to
batc. Tis makes te testing of representative samples
important.
4 inally, nutrients from organic sources will produce te
igest return and cause te least environmental damage if
applied to fields tat are relatively poorly supplied wit
nitrogen and posporus.
4 t sould also be noted tat te use of manure or oter
organic amendment can be very beneficial in environmental
restoration programs - land recovering from excessive
erosion, from mining operations.
norgan|c Commerc|a| Iert|||zers
O orldwide use of fertilizers as increased dramatically during te
second alf of te 20
t
century.
4 Most fertilizers are inorganic salts containing easily available
nutrient elements.
4 Some are manufactured. Oters, suc as posporus and
potassium, are found in natural geological deposits.
4 Tese beds of solid salts can be found in Canada, rance,
Germany, and Russia. Tey are mined and ten purified into
suc compounds as potassium cloride and potassium sulfate.
4 Apatite, found in pospate rock deposits, is te primary
source of P fertilizer. Since it is igly insoluble, apatite is
treated wit sulfuric, posporic, or nitric acid to produce
suc minerals as triple superpospate.
4 Nitrogen is generally arvested from te air. Under very ig
temperatures and pressures te N is fixed wit ydrogen to
produce ammonia gas. Under moderate pressure tis is
liquefied forming anydrous ammonia tat is te basis for
most N fertilizers.
O Te composition of inorganic fertilizers is muc more precisely
defined tan is true for organic materials.
4 n most cases, fertilizers are used to supply plants wit
macronutrients (primary fertilizer elements) - N, P, K - and
not micronutrients altoug tere are fertilizers tat provide
sulpur, magnesium, and micronutrients.
4 ifferent fertilizers use different carriers or fertilizer
compounds. Tese possess different caracteristics - and
problems. or example, wile anydrous ammonia as a low
rating for salt azard and a ig level for acidity, ammonium
nitrate as a ig rating for salt azards and a relatively low
rating for acidity.
O A generation ago, most fertilizers were sold by te bag and mixed
in-field. Tat is no longer te case.
4 Today, less tan 10% of all fertilizer is andled tis way.
4 Most is andled in bulk form eiter as (1) unbagged, dry
solids andled in bulk form OR (2) liquid or fluid forms. n
bot cases, significant savings are acieved especially in
terms of labour costs.
O Commercial fertilizers are closely regulated today.
4 ac as a fertilizer grade tat is stated in te form of a
tree-number code: 10-5-10 for example.
4 Tis tells you ave muc (in terms of %) total N, available P,
and soluble K respectively are in te fertilizer.
O To actually determine ow muc N, P, and K is in a specific
fertilizer, you need to do a little mat.
4 P is expressed in te percentage of posporous acid (P2O5)
content and K is expressed in soluble potas (K2O). BUT
plants do not take up P or K in tese forms. Nor do actual
fertilizers contain tese compounds - tey are simply te
forms used in te testing of fertilizer grades.
4 So if your label reads: 6-24-24 were N is expressed as total
N, P is expressed in te form of posporic acid, and K is
expressed as soluble potas, you can convert P and K using:
To determine te amount of P in P2O5: multiply by 0.44
To determine te amount of K in K2O: multiply by 0.83
4 Terefore, in a 25kg bag of 6-24-24:
6% N - requires no conversion - 0.06 x 25 = 1.5kg of
N
24% P2O5 - 24 x 0.44 = 10.5% - 0.105 x 25 = 2.6 kg
of P
24% k2O - 24 x 0.83 = 19.9% - 0.199 x 25 = 5kg of K
O Tere is te myt tat inorganic fertilizers applied to soil directly
feed plants ad terefore te biological cycling of nutrients is not
important. Tis is wrong.
4 Nutrients added by normal application of fertilizers, weter
organic or inorganic, are incorporated into te complex soil
nutrient cycles AN not all of te fertilizer applied in a given
year is used by plants THAT year (tis ranges from 10 to
60%)
4 ertilizers actually stimulate increased cycling of te
nutrients, and te nutrient ions taken up by te plants come
largely from various pools of nutrients in te soil and not
directly from te fertilizer.
@e Concept of te "L|m|t|ng Iactor"
O Te German cemist, Justus von Liebig stated "plant production can
be no greater tan tat level allowed by te growt factor present
in te lowest amount relative to te optimum amount for tat
factor.
4 Tats a fancy way of saying, te input present in te lowest
amount relative to its ideal amount for optimum plant growt
determines te plants ealt.
4 Tis is te limiting factor. t could be a specific nutrient,
water, or temperature.
4 or example, if a plant is limited by a lack of P, adding more
N wont elp stimulate plant growt. You need to address
your P.
Iert|||zer App||cat|on Metods
O ise, effective fertilizer use involves knowing:
4 ic nutrient element(s) to apply
4 How muc of eac needed nutrient to apply
4 at type of material or carrier to use
4 n wat manner to apply te material
4 en to apply it
O Tere are tree general approaces to applying fertilizers:
4 Broadcast application
4 Localized placement
4 oliage application
roadcast|ng
O n many instances, fertilizer is spread evenly over te entire field or
area to be fertilized. Tis is called broadcasting.
O t is most appropriate wen applying large amounts over large
areas. t is te most economical way too.
O or close-growing vegetation, it is te appropriate distribution of
te nutrients.
O or P, Za, Mg, and oter nutrients tat tend to get fixed in te soil,
broadcast applications are usually less efficient tan localized
placement. Often, two to tree kg of fertilizer must be broadcast to
acieve te same response as from one kg placed in localized area.
O Because of its mobility, N does not suffer from reduced availability
wen broadcast BUT if left on te surface, it can be lost by
volatization. Tis is especially true for urea and ammonium
fertilizers.
O Anoter form of broadcast application is mixing liquid fertilizers wit
irrigation water.
O Tis is called fertigation.
O Liquid ammonia, nitrogen solutions, posporic acid, and even
complete fertilizers are dissolved in te irrigation stream or te
overead sprinkler systems supply.
O Te added bonus ere is tat ceaper carriers can be used.
Loca||zed |acement
O deally it would be nice to place te applied fertilizer close to te
plant and its roots. Tese strategies are called localized fertilizer
placement.
O Tere are two reasons wy it is preferred:
4 irst, localized placement reduces te amount of contact
between soil particles and te fertilizer nutrient, tus
minimizing te opportunity for te nutrients to be fixed and
made unavailable to plants.
4 Second, te concentration of te nutrient in te soil solution
and te root surface will be ig, resulting in greatly
enanced uptake by te roots.
O Suc approaces are particularly effective as starter applications for
young seedlings, in cool spring soils and for plants tat grow rapidly
wit a big demand for nutrients early in te season.
O or best results it as been found tat localized placement
approximately 5cm deep and 5cm off to eiter side of te young
plants is best.
O or liquid fertilizers and slurries of manure and sewage sludge,
placement 10 to 30cm deep in te soil is best.
O Bands of tese liquids can be placed 10 to 30cm deep in te soil
using a process known as nife injection.
O A tird metod for localized placement is /ribble application.
O Tis involves dribbling a narrow stream of liquid fertilizer alongside
te crop row as a side dressing.
O Te use of a stream instead of a fine spray elps reduce te
volatization of N.
O A variation of tis is drip irrigation were liquid fertilizer is mixed
wit irrigation waters.
O A final strategy is to use point injection.
O Small portions of liquid fertilizer can be applied alongside eac
individual plant witout significantly disturbing eiter te plant
roots or surface residue cover.
O Tis is a variation of te traditional dribble stick still used in many
parts of te Tird orld.
@|m|ng of Iert|||zer App||cat|ons
O Timing is based upon four considerations:
4 Making te nutrients available wen te plants need it most
4 Avoiding excess availability, especially of N, before and after
te principal period of plant uptake
4 Making nutrients available wen tey will strengten, not
weaken, long-season and perennial plants
4 Conducting field operations wen conditions make tem
practical and feasible