Quality pays when applying foliar fertilisers

Story in partnership with Yara Australia.

APPLYING a high quality foliar fertiliser can be the difference between providing cereal crops with the necessary micronutrients for optimal growth or the risk of causing crop damage.

Yara Australia Sales Agronomist - WA, Jason Brady, says foliar fertilisers enable the precise application of plant-available essential nutrients, including manganese, copper and zinc, at critical stages of crop growth.

Yara markets a range of quality foliar fertilisers, including YaraVita COPTRAC, MANTRAC and ZINTRAC, that deliver high concentrations of copper, manganese and zinc, respectively, in combination with nitrogen.

Another formulation, YaraVita GRAMITREL, is an 'all in one' formulation that contains a balanced source of copper, magnesium, manganese, zinc and nitrogen.

"These super concentrated true flowable formulations deliver two or three times the level of nutrients as chelated formulations without affecting crop safety," Jason said.

"Each formulation contains all the necessary wetters, stickers and absorption aids to enhance uptake by the plant, performance and ultimately, the best return on your investment in crop nutrition," he continued.

"They are also compatible with a wide range of crop protection products for cost-effective, one-pass application.

"Our free to download TankmixIT app and tankmix.com website contains thousands of two-way or multiple component tank-mix tests of YaraVita products with crop protection products to help growers plan their spray programs."

Independent research has confirmed that YaraVita foliar fertilisers pose significantly less risk to crops than chelated formulations, despite delivering much higher concentrations of nutrients.

Yara compared the performance of its YaraVita MANTRAC PRO, COPTRAC and ZINTRAC products to chelated manganese, copper and zinc formulations.

Each pair of treatments delivered the same concentration of nutrients (manganese 500 g/L, copper 500 g/L and zinc 700 g/L).

Leaf damage was assessed seven days after spraying and classified as unscorched, slightly scorched, moderately scorched or severely scorched.

In this trial, chelated formulations produced significantly higher levels of phytotoxicity than formulated products.

Specifically, the application of MANTRAC PRO and ZINTRAC produced significantly lower levels of moderate and severe scorching than MnEDTA and ZnEDTA, respectively, while the application of COPTRAC resulted in lower levels of slight, moderate or severe scorching than CuEDTA.

Jason says all YaraVita foliar fertilisers are manufactured in Pocklington, in the UK, to world-class quality assurance standards.

"These standards cover everything from where and how we source raw materials, right through to formulation, manufacture, trials, labelling and logistics," he said.

"Many of the raw ingredients are sourced from the cosmetic, food or pharmaceutical sectors," he continued.

"Yara also maintains a comprehensive sampling system to ensure each batch meets the stated specification and can be traced back to the raw materials used in that batch."

YaraVita fertilisers are packaged in 10 litre 'A Pack' recyclable polyethylene bottles. All YaraVita drums are accepted at drumMuster collection sites.

"Packaging design and size have an important role in the safe and easy handling of crop nutrition products," Jason said.

"The ergonomic handle can rotate 360 degrees, while the central opening ensures smooth pouring, fast mixing and easier rinsing."

Story in partnership with Yara Australia.