EVEN though Moonijin (Dowerin) farmer Eric Emmott had less rainfall this year, the crop where he applied a new product, Balance, looks as good as last year's.
With about 70 millimetres less rainfall this year during the growing period, Mr Emmott said that visually, the crop with Balance looked about 25 per cent better than the crop without it.
“The crop is thicker and taller in height,” he said.
“We hope it’s going to go as good as it looks when we harvest.”
Balance is a specially formulated organic carbon pellet from Custom Composts that stimulates natural soil biology to improve nutrient uptake efficiency and crop resilience.
“I’ve been following this company for 12 years and the people behind it seem to know what they’re on about,” Mr Emmott said.
A partner in W Emmott and Sons, Mr Emmott’s farm is on a medium to light leaching sandplain and he said he used Balance because he is trying to get humus back into the depleted soil.
With more than 6000 hectares of crop, comprising 4050ha of wheat, 810ha of canola and 1215ha of lupins, Mr Emmott used Balance on 160ha of his Calingiri wheat.
He applied 40kg/ha Balance mixed with 40kg/ha of a nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur (NPS).
In the adjacent paddock he applied 80kg/ha of NPS only.
The Balance and fertiliser were applied together through the air seeder in May.
“It was easy to use, because it was all in one tonne bags,” Mr Emmott said.
Custom Composts generally recommends topping up with nitrogen fertiliser during the growing season, but as Mr Emmott planted the wheat on lupin stubble, he said the soil already had enough nitrogen in it.
Balance won the Best Sustainable Practice Award at the 2010 Dowerin GWN Machinery Field Days when it was released after eight years of research.
Custom Composts business development manager David Sharp said Balance was scientifically proven and could be applied through standard equipment, so farmers could incorporate the product without additional cost or risk.
“Even though the initial input cost with Balance is not that much different, it is not subject to global price fluctuations,” he said.
“It produces a better crop as plants are more deep-rooted and can access moisture for longer and it contributes to long-term soil health.”
Independent agronomist Deb Archdeacon said anecdotal evidence from farmers applying Balance, showed crops had hung on longer and had more resistance to disease because the plant was more resilient.
“We’re also finding crops are definitely more uniform with Balance,” she said.
“All the trials have shown that 50 per cent of the upfront fertiliser requirement can be replaced with Balance without reducing yield.
“In contrast, pot trials at the University of WA from 2008 to 2009 show that 100pc basal fertiliser leads to smaller root growth and lower mycorrhizal fungal root colonisation.
“Balance makes roots bigger because the organic carbon works with smaller fertiliser inputs to encourage root growth.
“Carbon moves through the plant into the roots and feeds the mycorrhizal fungi which then accesses phosphorus, zinc and other nutrients from the soil.”
The mycorrhizal fungi exchange these nutrients for carbon from the plant and their larger surface area is now able to access more nutrients from a wider area.
“There is also a larger microbial mass in the soil when Balance is used because concentrated inorganic fertiliser tends to be toxic to soil microbes,” Ms Archdeacon said.
“Whereas normal fertiliser can negatively impact on the seed because it is close and can pull water away, the organic matter in Balance buffers that effect.
“You still need start-up fertiliser to supply sufficient plant nutrients but Balance allows more effective use of these nutrients and builds resilience into the system so you’re not relying 100pc on fertiliser input.
“Balance is an organic matter source and will break down over time, but it reduces the quantity required of typical upfront inorganic fertiliser.”
Ms Archdeacon said trial results had been consistent across a range of conditions with similar or better yields using Balance.
Trials on wheat, oats, barley and peas had shown similar results.
“With the peas, there were much bigger roots and more nodulation and we should see the same thing on lupins,” Ms Archdeacon said.
Mr Emmott used about seven tonnes of Balance this year and hoped to increase it to 30 tonnes next year but would make the final decision after harvest.
He said he would possibly look at using Balance with other crops in the future.
