Understanding how much nitrogen actually gets taken up by plants is key to improving efficiency—both for profitability and sustainability.
Tag Archives fertilizer
Rethinking nitrogen efficiency
Tracking nitrogen with stable isotopes offers surprising insights into fertilizer uptake, loss, and management strategies
Do farmers need to apply sulphur to their crops every year?
Research suggests this important nutrient hangs around a lot longer than farmers think
“In terms of the reactions with some of the other elements of the soil, particularly in soils that have a lot of calcium, it hangs around a lot longer than we think it does.”
A compendium on molybdenum
Practical Research: Let’s look at a key micronutrient we may all be taking for granted
This micronutrient is needed by crop plants in such small quantities that we may take for granted it is unlikely to ever be deficient.
Supplementing seed with seafood
Active ingredient comes from ‘upcycled’ seafood byproducts
A company in Washington state is set to launch crop supplements in the Canadian market using an active ingredient sourced from “upcycled” seafood byproducts such as crab shells.
Maximize your nitrogen efficiency with the right practices
Strategic application can reduce N losses and boost productivity
Speaking at Ag Days, Bryce Geisel digs down into nitrogen loss pathways and how applying the right practices can keep your N fertilizer where it belongs.
Adding wood ash to soil both practical and cost-effective
Practical Research: Too often headed for the landfill, ash can reduce soils’ acidity and enhance cropland fertility
Here’s a perfectly good organic source of lime, with plant macro- and micronutrients, being taken from the woodlands and virtually thrown away. Wood ash is an excellent source of magnesium, calcium, potassium, phosphate and micronutrients, which can very effectively raise up acid soil pH levels.
Understanding phosphorus, part 3: Developing fertilizer recommendations
Agronomy Management: It’s important to have adequate P close to the seed during the first six weeks of growth
Part 3 of 3. Prairie farmers spend over $1 billion annually on phosphate fertilizer; these three articles will hopefully assist with a better understanding of how soil P functions in soil, soil testing for P and then how to develop wise phosphate fertilizer recommendations.
Counter tariffs threaten fertilizer prices
Canada's proposed retaliatory tariffs could end up hurting the country's grain farmers.
Restore productivity on your eroded knolls
Landscape restoration, cover cropping, residue redistribution and adjusting crop inputs are some management practices that can help
The eroded knolls or hilltops common in Prairie farmland are typically the least productive, often yielding considerably less than other parts of a field. Curtis Cavers, an agronomist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada based at Portage la Prairie, Man., says there are ways to boost crop productivity in these problem areas. Cavers provided an assessment […] Read more
Understanding soil phosphorus, part 1
Agronomy Management: Rotations and fertilizer management have dramatic effects on pools of organic and inorganic P
Farmers and agronomists are very aware that phosphorus (P) is an essential element needed for optimum crop production in Western Canada. Most soils used for annual crops in Western Canada are very low, low or medium in plant-available soil P and are responsive to added P fertilizer. As a result, phosphate fertilizer use is second […] Read more
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