Plant Health Insights

This demonstration shows how using Basis XC can accelerate and enhance wheat germination by improving nutrient release from granular fertiliser.

Seventeen Basis XC-treated fertiliser granules were mixed into the soil in the tray on the right, while untreated fertiliser granules were used in the tray on the left. As you can see, wheat germination is significantly advanced in the tray where Basis XC-treated fertiliser was applied.

By Maud Hinchee, PhD, Chief Science Officer, Agricen Sciences

For a germinating seed to survive and thrive, its root system needs to create a strong foothold and provide access to available nutrients and water. How does it do this?  

It turns out that a new root is constantly making choices about where and when to grow based on the environment it encounters. Guided by its “root brain,” it makes decisions that maximise its access to water and nutrients as quickly as possible.  

Australian cotton has a reputation for high quality and high productivity, boasting yields that are more than three times the world average. The Loveland Agri Products’ range can help cotton growers maintain their leading edge and maximise their return on investment by setting the stage for a high performing crop early in the growing season.

The Superior Cotton Planting guide focuses on three key Loveland products that can be used to enhance the growth and performance of both irrigated and dryland cotton:

• Foundation™ LM - A biochemical catalyst for liquid fertilisers that increases nutrient availability and improves nutrient use efficiency. Foundation LM is an easy-to-use, cost-effective and safe method of making phosphorus more available to the plant at emergence and at early seedling stage. It helps to increase phosphorus efficiency by converting organic phosphorus into the plant-available, inorganic form.
• Radiate^® - An APVMA-registered foliar plant growth regulator technology. Radiate contains balanced amounts of indolebutyric acid (IBA) and other nutritional ingredients designed to promote root and shoot growth, improving
  overall plant vigour.
• LoKomotive^® - A liquid potassium acetate formulation specifically designed to provide maximum potassium uptake with minimal potential for phytotoxicity.

During "Early Season Technologies to Increase Cotton Production," you will hear about two technologies—Foundation LM and Radiate—that can improve cotton production by providing benefits such as increased nutrient availability, enhanced root growth and improved stress tolerance.

During the webinar, you'll see: 

• What Foundation LM and Radiate are
• How these products can maximise yield potential in an agronomic program on cotton
• Recent trial results in cotton

For a high-performing cotton crop, growers need to set the stage for success early in the growing season. In this short video, you'll hear from a cotton agronomist how early season applications of Foundation LM and Radiate can support plant health and maximise cotton yield potential by providing benefits such as enhanced rooting, improved nutrient uptake and increased resistance to plant stress. 

An irrigated cotton trial harvested in 2017 in Wee Waa, New South Wales demonstrates the ability of Foundation LM to help cotton crops achieve higher yields when this biocatalyst is added to a grower's standard fertiliser practice (GSP).

We are happy to announce that Bill Adams has joined Agricen Australia as senior sales manager based in Moree, New South Wales. 

Bill has more than two decades of experience in agronomy, crop protection and plant nutrition. He previously worked at Yara International for six years, most recently as commercial manager for liquids. Bill has also held positions at Ausgrains, Bywanna Farming, Syngenta, and McGregor Gourlay Agriculture Services. At Syngenta, he held leadership roles that included a specialized focus on cotton production in Australia.

This trial from Minlaton, South Australia was conducted to evaluate lentil production utilising Basis XC on MAP fertiliser. Basis XC was applied on MAP at 2L/tonne ("treated"). Treated and untreated MAP was applied at planting with the seed at rates of 25, 50 and 75kg/ha.

At every rate, lentils grown in the blocks with Basis XC-treated MAP outyielded the control blocks, with yield increases ranging from 50-190 kg/ha. 

Phosphorus is required early in a plant’s growth cycle, when it is key to good plant establishment and early vigour. But, like other nutrients, it must have time to break down into plant-available forms. Increasing the availability of phosphorus in early growth stages helps improve crop establishment and can positively influence yield potential.  

By using Basis XC with SSP fertilisers, graziers can speed up the release and utilisation of phosphorus and other nutrients in their pastures, which can equal more pasture growth.

"We did trials with a local grazier where we compared the quality of pasture spread with Basis XC-treated SSP versus untreated SSP," says Sam Graetz, Nutrien Ag Solutions Branch Manager at Lucindale, SA.

"The quality of the pasture from the treated area was far higher than the untreated in virtually all aspects, including metabolisable energy and protein, as well as much higher nutritional levels, resulting in higher potential stocking rates," he adds.