Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Twitter LinkedIn
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    • News
      • Arable & Agronomy
      • Dealership News
      • Environmental Land Management Scheme/Policy
      • Event News
      • Health & Safety
      • Machinery
      • People
      • World News
    • Farm Machinery
      • Amenity & Maintenance
      • Cultivations
      • Drilling
      • Grassland Equipment
      • Harvesting
      • Muck & Slurry
      • Sprayers
      • Telehandlers
      • Tractors
      • Tractor of the Year
      • Tyres & Tracks
      • Whatever happened to?
    • Precision Farming
    • Markets & Policy
    • Profiles
      • National Arable and Grassland Awards
      • Company Profiles
      • Reader Profiles
    • Livestock
      • Beef
      • Dairy
      • Sheep
    • Magazines
      1. September 2025 issue
      2. August 2025 issue
      3. 2025 Drills and Seeds supplement
      4. July 2025 issue
      5. June 2025 issue
      6. Cereals event guide 2025
      7. May 2025 issue
      8. April 2025 issue
      9. March 2025 issue
      10. 2025 Tyre Developments supplement
      11. February 2025 issue
      12. National Arable and Grassland Awards supplement
      13. January 2025 issue
      14. December 2024 issue
      15. November 2024 issue
      16. October 2024 issue
      17. September 2024 issue
      18. August 2024 Issue
      19. 2024 Drills and Seeds supplement
      20. July 2024 Issue
      21. Cereals Supplement
      22. June 2024 Issue
      23. May 2024 Issue
      24. April 2024 Issue
      25. Tyres and Tracks Supplement
      26. March 2024 Issue
      27. National Arable & Grassland Award – Meet the Finalists
      28. February 2024 Issue
      29. January 2024 Issue
      30. December 2023
      31. Agritechnica Preview Supplement
      32. November 2023
      33. October 2023
      Featured

      September 2025 issue available now

      By Matthew TiltSeptember 1, 2025
      Recent

      September 2025 issue available now

      September 1, 2025

      August 2025 issue available now

      August 1, 2025

      2025 Drills and Seeds supplement available now

      August 1, 2025
    • Events
    • Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Arable & Agronomy

    Optimise yields and profits with foliar nutrition

    Vicky LewisBy Vicky LewisMarch 31, 20233 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Phil Burrell, YaraVita product manager at Yara.

    Soil conditions and the changing climate are the two main factors affecting crop yields. YaraVita product manager at Yara, Phil Burrell, said optimising yields and profitability is down to perfecting the basics before you can manage crops with foliar nutrition.

    Optimising soil pH with lime can ensure crops are able to access key nutrients, such as phosphorus, which is essential for early root development and other important plant processes. Mr Burrell said: “We recommend an optimum pH of around 6.5 for arable soils because that’s the level where the majority of nutrients are most available. But if you’re not optimising pH and you’ve got a pH of 5.5-6, you’ll lose up to half of any phosphorus you put on that soil.” For a reasonably small outlay, growers can see big returns this way.

    Proactive and preventative

    The crop nutrition industry has moved away from managing deficiency and towards a proactive and preventative approach. If farmers wait for signs of deficiency, it is too late to do anything about it. Mr Burrell said: “Use things like tissue testing as a form of proactive analysis, then do something about it. Whether we are talking nutrition, fungicides, or herbicides, prevention is generally cheaper and more effective than cure.”

    The strategic and proactive use of foliar nutrition products like YaraVita is recommended with a caveat; growers must get the basics right first. “Growers need to be getting soil pH and fertiliser applications right before looking to foliar nutrition to optimise yield,” he said. “The key to ensuring extra yield is to optimise the macro fertiliser you put on the soil, ensure you’ve got a good root system, and that no nutrients are lacking. That’s where foliar nutrition comes in.”

    The company recommends boron, calcium, magnesium, manganese and molybdenum for oilseed rape. Magnesium and manganese help to keep the crop green, maximising photosynthesis. Boron and calcium support a healthy plant structure.

    This time of year is crucial to yield-building. Growers will now have the maximum amount of ears they’re going to have and advice is that they now concentrate on the number of grains per ear.

    Mr Burrell said: “Boron, copper, and zinc all have a big role to play in the fertilisation of that ear to ensure we’ve got optimum grain set. It’s all about proactive nutrition. Growers need to remember that just because a nutrient is present in the soil, it doesn’t mean it’s getting into the plant. That’s where tissue analysis and the timely application of those key nutrients comes in.”

    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    Pin
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleNew location for Cereals attracting attention from new and returning exhibitors
    Next Article Emission reduction support announced by the government
    Vicky Lewis

    Read Similar Stories

    Low carbon fertiliser launched

    August 27, 2025

    More cases of glyphosate ryegrass resistance confirmed

    August 25, 2025

    New OSR yield record set

    August 15, 2025
    Most Read Stories

    Pöttinger introduces new silage additive tank

    September 2, 2025

    Samson adds new entry-level TG slurry tanker

    September 2, 2025

    John Deere extends parts solutions

    September 2, 2025
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer

    The UK's leading agricultural machinery journal

    Twitter LinkedIn
    © 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

    Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • Farmers Weekly
    • AA Farmer
    • Poultry News
    • Pig World

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.