British farmers are set to benefit from a new decision-making tool designed to optimise phosphorus use efficiency.
Developed by Unium Bioscience, Phosphate Power is a free online tool that helps farmers assess the phosphorus biological availability in the soil using just their postcode.
Phosphorus availability can be limited by soil and environmental factors, and the tool is said to provide tailored recommendations depending on the phosphate availability.
Using the phosphorus index, based on peer-reviewed data, it informs farmers whether their soils are biologically optimised to provide what the crop needs.
“The new service is simple and practical,” explains John Haywood at Unium Bioscience. “It links environmental conditions such as soil moisture, temperature, soil texture, and location to a forecast for the next seven days to help growers with precise, location-specific information.
“This enables informed decision-making on how best to supply crops with phosphorus at a very critical and sensitive time in the plant’s physiology,” he says.
If availability is limited, the tool provides advice on appropriate actions, including the application of seed treatments, foliar products and biostimulants, which encourage root growth to enhance absorption.
“Seed treatments are a sensible choice when you are planting outside optimal conditions to boost establishment and root growth – for planting from October to April,” says John.
“Depending upon your soil P levels, it will help to dictate whether you need to mine reserves – the only way to do this is to push out more roots, more active roots in terms of pushing out more exudates to feed soil biology or by supplying an efficient form of phosphorus – organic or inorganic – based on your soil’s pH, placing it strategically near the root structure, or using effective foliar treatments for optimal uptake.”
One of the key advantages of this tool is its ability to help farmers during the critical stages of crop development. Phosphate Power is available to growers nationwide.
It can be accessed at www.uniumbioscience.com