Growing season almost over, crop still healthy?

It is well known that temperature, sufficient moisture and a healthy and varied diet are necessary to achieve a good yield. However, maintaining a healthy and even crop for as long as possible (certainly in a year like this) requires craftsmanship.

As a specialist at Agrifirm you often get the following questions: what are the ways to adjust the crop, what can a grower focus on best, how do you ensure that the nutrition you provide is actually absorbed by the plant ?

The importance of soil and leaf samples
To achieve mineralization of organic material, so that plants can absorb nutrients released from the soil, sufficient soil temperature and moisture are required. There has been quite a shortage of the latter in particular this season and we have no control over the precipitation. That is the case for the fertilizers that you administer.

The growers have soil and leaf samples taken to adjust the fertilization doses according to need. The analysis (see image below) shows what is in the soil and what is actually absorbed by the plant. This analysis can be used to check whether the previously performed fertilization has been of sufficient value and which further actions can still be taken.

What often happens is that the elements are present in the soil but are not available to the plant. Also, a deficiency of one element can reduce the absorption of another. A soil and crop analysis provides insight into this. A grower can opt for a foliar fertilizer that is easily absorbable, if there is less mineralization and/or the crop cannot absorb the nutrients released. The quantities that can be sprayed are often low; they can help to keep the crop vital in periods of stress.

(Text continues below the image)An example of an analysis that allows the grower to fertilize in a targeted manner.

Advice based on BijmestMonitor
For the plot with Innovators in Marknesse, the BijmestMonitor from Eurofins Agro was used to determine how best to manage fertilization. It is good to see what fertilizers are present and what has been absorbed by the plant.

For example, we see that there is a shortage of a number of elements, such as manganese, so that adjustments have been made with (foliar) fertilizers on the advice of an Agrifirm cultivation specialist. The availability and absorption of Kali, which contributes to the drought resistance of the plant, is also on the low side. This can be responded to with a supplementary fertilization with a readily available potash such as Kali 60 or a foliar treatment with K-leaf.

For phytophthora, Valbon was sprayed, which also contains Mancozeb. This gives the Innovator, who is usually an Altenaria-prone potato, a bit of support to be more resilient to Altenariate. As it now seems, the plot will yield 67 tons with Innovators in Marknesse, as it turned out from the trial harvesting from week 31.