Trace elements are becoming more vital

摘要

Keeping soil trace elements at the correct level is becoming ever more important in both cereal and root crop production. JOANNA BAKER takes a look at the issues with Lincolnshire-based suspension fertiliser manufacturers Omex Agriculture. Increasingcrop yields are just one reason why trace element applications are becoming ever more important in arable cropping today, according to Andy Eccles, agronomist with Omex Agriculture. "Five years ago 10t/ha wheat yields were regarded as 'good', whereas now some growers are achieving 12 to 13t/ha in wheat crops. As these yields increase, so too do the removal rates of nutrients from the soil and it is therefore becoming more and more critical to look at trace element application," said Mr Eccles. He saidwetter UK winters meant more trace elements derived naturally by mineralisation were lost to leaching; the reduced return from farmyard manure and fertiliser impurities also reduced trace elements present in the soil.