Liquid nitrogen (N) has seen a resurgence in popularity recently. At the Teagasc malting barley conference, Richie Hackett busted some of the myths around its use and gave solid advice for those considering a change.
The first thing made very clear was that “it’s not a foliar fertiliser, it’s a soil-acting fertiliser”.
Richie explained that the objective is to get N into the soil so that the plants can get it from the soil.
As a result, it needs to be applied in large droplets that will bounce off the leaf, so a change of nozzle or a move to streamers is needed on a sprayer.
Most winter crop have come through the winter relatively unscathed, although some crops have been affected by the weather and pests.
Many growers are getting ready to spread fertilisers on crops like oilseed rape and winter barley in the coming weeks.
Most crops will receive a compound fertilisers that will balance the phosphorous and potassium requirements that are important to promote root growth and tiller production, while they will also receive some nitrogen to stimulate growth.
Before you commit to spreading fertilisers to crops, there are three simple rules to follow to get maximum effect from the fertiliser and to minimise losses.
With all the talk about straw of late and livestock farmers fearing a straw shortage with the introduction of the straw incorporation scheme, cereal crops which can produce more straw per acre will be of interest to many.
Speaking at the Teagasc Tillage Conference, researcher Richie Hackett noted that one to two extra 4x4 bales/ac can be produced from rye when compared to a crop of winter wheat.
Approximately 500ha of rye were planted in Ireland in 2020 and this figure is set to increase in 2021.
However, markets for the grain produced are at the early stages of exploration and this is a barrier to increasing area.
Hear the latest research and insights in the Irish tillage sector
Join Teagasc tomorrow morning, Wednesday, February 3, at 11:30am, for the first in a two-part series of Tillage Conference interactive webinars.
Register at: www.teagasc.ie/tillagemonth and hear from researchers and PhD students who will provide insights into current research on a range of topics including the agronomy of growing oat and bean crops, developing the potential of rye as a crop in Ireland and the latest barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) diagnostics.
Part one of the Virtual Tillage Conference will also look at generating high value breeding material.