Plant Health Insights

When growing short-season crops like brassicas and leafy greens, we often see strong benefits from the biochemistry in Foundation LM when added to a grower's standard practice.  In a series of block trials with some growers, we were able to capture some of the benefits that Foundation provides to growers by making nutrients more available and helping to improve plant performance.

The first trial was conducted in cos (romaine) lettuce. Cos is a sturdy, dark green, and fast growing variety of lettuce that is a staple in many Australian diets. The second trial was conducted on wombok (Chinese cabbage). It is also a favorite with Australians because of its tender leaves and nutritional qualities. 

In the trials, Foundation LM was applied with the grower's standard practice (GSP) one week after planting at 10 litres per hectare through fertigation. Early tissue test results and results of first and second pickings showed exceptional responses from one application Foundation LM. 

For thousands of years, the world regarded the act of growing a plant in the soil as a biological process. But—as in all systems—the need for scalability to meet growing demands called for new, more efficient technologies to improve food production. The agricultural advancements of the post–World War II era were nothing short of transformational in this respect. Worldwide, food production skyrocketed, owing to advancements including improved seed varieties, modernized irrigation, better control of plant diseases and pests, and increased use of chemical fertilisers.

In more recent years, we have realized that the gains achieved through the tools of the Green Revolution are not limitless. We have also realized that the intensity of agricultural production has some significant, long-term impacts on soil, air and water resources. These realizations have helped prompt a renewed interest in the biological elements of crop production.

Treating granular fertiliser with Basis XC accelerates the breakdown of fertiliser granules for rapid nutrient release and improved nutrient uptake by crops. This time-lapse video shows how quickly Basis XC works to break down 9-23-30, 11-52-0 and other granular fertiliser blends, such as 12-17.5-0 (10S) (1Zn).

Basis XC, a new, next-generation formulation of Agricen Australia’s biocatalyst technology for granular fertilisers, is now available from Loveland Agri Products through Nutrien Ag Solutions.

Designed to improve granular fertiliser efficiency, Basis XC 'unlocks' applied nutrients, making them available more quickly in the soil for plant uptake. By improving fertiliser efficiency, it also helps growers maximise the return on their granular fertiliser investments. 

In two recent Farm Weekly articles (part 1, part 2), farmers Andrea and Carl Moltoni describe their success using Basis on their Yathroo, WA farm.  The father and son point out the dividing line in their paddock caused by the shadow of taller canola where they applied Basis-treated granular fertiliser.

Carl notes that both their canola yield and oil content are higher than average this season, with seed also bigger. His father, Andrea, who has farmed for over 50 years, says that this is the best season he has ever seen. 

In Australia's high rainfall grazing areas, growers need to maximise efficiencies in beef and sheep production wherever possible.  In a replicated pasture trial completed in Goulburn, NSW, Nutrien Ag Solutions agronomist David Noble aimed to capture the benefits of Basis when applied to SSP (single superphosphate).  The trial included four different treatments:

1. Nil fertiliser
2. 100 kg/ha SSP
3. 125 kg/ha SSP
4. 100 kg/ha SSP + Basis

When the final calculations were tabulated, Basis delivered strong results by increasing the availability of nutrients from the applied fertiliser, which, in turn, improved dry matter production and pasture digestibility—both of which are key drivers of livestock production. 

A replicated plant cane trial in Brightly, Queensland, shows the ability of Foundation LM to improve sugarcane performance.  Alternate replications of the grower standard practice (GSP) and the GSP + Foundation LM (5L/ha in furrow) were applied at planting in this study, which was conducted in variety SP80-1816 plant cane by a Landmark agronomist.

At harvest, the small investment of 5 litres of Foundation LM mixed with pre-emergence herbicides allowed the grower to pick up an additional 907 kilograms of sugar per hectare, on average, over his standard practice. 

In this paddock trial in South Australia, adding Basis to the grower's granular fertiliser application improved the performance of Scepter wheat during the growing season. In early September when photos were taken (below), wheat in the untreated block had drooping flag leaves and showed signs of magnesium deficiency, while wheat plants in the Basis-treated blocks had more erect leaves and no signs of nutrient deficiency.

The soil is a living environment, full of organisms that influence plant growth and health. These organisms include visible inhabitants like earthworms, as well as a multitude of invisible, microscopic inhabitants like bacteria and fungi. Plants—through their growing roots—are also part of this living environment. Many of the interactions among these inhabitants occur through biochemical signalling, particularly in the rhizosphere.

Soil microbes and the biochemical compounds they make play a major role in nutrient release and nutrient use efficiency.

Macadamia nuts, with their health benefits and unique, delicious taste, are an increasingly important export crop for Australian agriculture. Native to Australia and grown in New South Wales and Queensland, the nuts have been commercially cultivated in Australia since the late 1800s.

Following in that long tradition, Paul Ryan grows macadamias on a 29-acre orchard with nearly 9,000 trees in Gympie, Queensland. Over the past few years, Paul noticed that the leaves on his once healthy looking trees were gradually yellowing. He reached out to Matt Kunde, an agronomist from Nutrien Ag Solutions Gympie, to help investigate the issue.