Helping broadacre farmers unlock the biological potential of their soils

Story sponsored by Sustainable Farming Solutions.

As the winter cropping season approaches many wheat, barley and canola growers are asking the same question they do every year: How I get the most out of my crops and maximise my return on investment?

That's why two new products - being released to the public for the first time this year - are gaining the attention of broadacre farmers across the country.

Sabel-X Canola and Sabel-X Cereal are both seed treatments that help to increase the long term health and biological potential of your crops.

More to the point, three years worth of trials - conducted by Sustainable Farming Solutions - have seen returns on investment at harvest in every single case.

General Manager Steven David says trials have found Sabel-X seed treatments to not only be cost effective per hectare but also that return on investment can be as high as seven to 39 times what was put in.

Sabel-X Trichoderma improves crop performance in two ways, Mr David explained. Firstly, by directly interacting with the gene expression of the plant, the plant increases photosynthesis by up to 30 per cent, meaning it has more energy to produce grain and thus is able to survive and thrive under tougher conditions.

"Secondly, what Sabel-X seed treatments also do is help to unlock the biological potential of your soil by activating the right microbes," he said.

So how exactly does it achieve this? Well, the Sabel-X seed treatments are an Endophytic Trichoderma (meaning they live inside the plants) and help to switch on gene sets that trigger and activate microbes within the rhizosphere (root zone).

In other words, it essentially coordinates the activity of the beneficial rhizosphere microbes and acts like a coach to amass the best 'Team' of microbes at any given point in time, allowing you to get the most out of your soils.

"Research shows the Sabel-X Trichoderma switch on more genes, literally hundreds of them, which means more rhizosphere microbes are activated," Sustainable Farming Solutions' Brian Foster explained.

"We know the Sabel-X Trichoderma create signals to attract microbes in the root zone involved in critical processes including improving utilisation of nutrients, uptake and utilisation of moisture, stress and disease resistance and improved photosynthesis."

In practicality, this means that the plant is healthier and more resilient, thus it can better survive from one rain event to the next and help reach its full genetic potential.

Sustainable Farming Solutions has been working in the sustainable ag space for more than 25 years and say the Sabel-X products - including the seed treatments - are amongst the most impressive they've have come across.

Sabel-X Canola can be applied dry direct onto seed. It can also be used with phosphate fertilisers and has a rate of 60g/per 25kg of seed.

Sabel-X Cereal on the other hand - which can be applied to wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, triticale - has a rate of 300g/per 250kg of seed.

"Sabel-X seed treatments help the crops throughout the entirety of their lifecycle... and because of that it ultimately pays off once harvest comes around," Mr David said.

For more information on Sabel-X Canola or Sabel-X Cereal seed treatments click here.

Story sponsored by Sustainable Farming Solutions.