Wheat practical field tests with AKRA products
Liming, boosting soil life, inoculating seeds with bacteria: multi-year crop rotation tests carried out as part of the interregional EU project Biocas in context.
Holger Oest from the Bremervörde district office of the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture was responsible for conducting some exciting tests with wheat. At one site, he tested, among other things, the AKRA fertilising system from Austria, which uses lime and nutrient combinations as well as crop additives based on the results of comprehensive soil analyses.
Details about the practical field test
- Amongst other things, the seeds were inoculated with bacteria strains or the bacteria strains were given to the crops.
- Silicic acids or micronutrients were also used.
- The hope was that the bacteria would improve root growth, increase nutrient efficiency and boost plant health.
- In addition, the consultant compared AKRA products with the manure preparation AgriMestMix from Rinagro based in the Netherlands. With the special microorganisms that it contains, it should have resulted in less nutrient leaching and outgassing.
First experiences from Lower Saxony: “We are implementing a low-nitrogen fertilising concept for various crops not only on the field test site, but also with good success on other areas of our farm too,” explained farmer Hermann Cordes who is based in the district of Rotenburg. The concept is based on a special soil analysis and should encourage soil life and humus formation on his farm.
In summary:
Useful bacteria strains, microorganisms or silicic acids should help farmers to work in way that is more gentle to groundwater and to save nitrogen fertiliser. However, this method requires five to seven times as much lime as normal. The changed fertilising system does not entirely comply with the usual standard recommendations.
The field tests in Wilstedt showed “how farm managers can meet the high requirements of a groundwater-friendly management,” said Lower Saxony Minister of Agriculture Barbara Otte-Kinast. The results from the tests made it clear to see “in which direction the agricultural sector can develop to address the issues associated with increasing climate change.”
Barbara Otte-Kinast, Lower Saxony Minister of Agriculture
Fertilise 5 to 7 times as much lime?
The fertilising recommendations of agricultural analytic and research institutes, which have a target soil pH level between 5.0 and 5.8 for sandy soils, serve as a comparison. To check the effect of the products, the “LWK Premium” variant was also tested in the field, where only the nutrient amounts of the AKRA system were used as fertiliser.
The other soil analyses must clarify whether the total content is sufficient. The standard analysis with CAL or DL extract only detects a small proportion of the easily soluble bonding forms, according to a supporter of the system. In addition, only phosphorous (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg) and the pH value were identified.
The fractional soil analyses should also uncover hidden pools of nutrients that are also relevant for the nutrition of the crops. To carry out these analyses, AKRA works with soil scientist Hans Unterfrauner who is based in Vienna. In his opinion, five to seven times as much lime or four times as much sulphur must be added. This would enable nitrogen savings of up to 20 per cent.
What several years of testing should bring
The Kompetenzzentrum Niedersachsen Netzwerk Nachwachsende Rohstoffe und Bioökonomie e.V (3N) acted as project coordinator together with the local chamber of agriculture, the district and local farmers, consultants and companies. The results from the two-year test should be published in autumn 2020.
To ensure that no nitrate leaches out, the effectiveness of organic fertiliser should be improved and the use of mineral fertilisers reduced. This would encourage humus formation in the soil and support water retention and root growth, allowing the crops to make better use of the available nutrients in the soil. Crisis-resistant cultivation concepts are particularly relevant during drought years like 2018 and 2019.
The AKRA fertilising system, which was developed in the 1960s, links the intensities and concentrations but also the capacities or stocks with the nutrient dynamic and subsequent delivery. The aim of this is to ensure that each soil system has the smallest potential differences possible. The more elements that it contains and the more intensive their interactions, the more stable it is.
The slurry preparation AgriMestMix, which is patented across the EU, starts supporting biochemical processes in the slurry pit. Essentially, it adds oxygen to the slurry. It should encourage the aerobic microorganisms that convert organic nitrogen into ammoniacal nitrogen. This is then made available to the crops earlier and more evenly.
