The nutrient uptake efficiency (NUE) of spring barley and winter wheat has been shown to be increased by up to 20% in trials of a new low carbon fertiliser.
Fertiberia’s DS+ Zero Impact product was put up against a conventional fertiliser in tests run by Bartholomews in Wiltshire and Hampshire.
DS+ Zero is a nitric and ammoniacal nitrogen fertiliser with a biodegradable coating around the granule that controls nutrient release and prevents leaching. It also acts as a nitrification inhibitor to significantly reduce volatilisation.
It’s manufactured using green hydrogen produced from renewable energy, reducing the carbon footprint throughout the supply chain.
The spring barley trials took place in the 2023 season near Salisbury, using the varieties Planet and Laurette. 28 fertiliser treatments were tested on each variety against the farm standard of 155 kgs N + 75 kgs So3, applied as Polysulphate, per hectare.
According to Andrew Stilwell, technical director and agronomist at Bartholomews, who conducted the trials, replacing farm standard using Fertiberia DS+ Impact Zero at the same N level produced no change in yield or crop quality.
This, Andrew said, confirmed the product performed ‘at least as well as the existing standard’. But he added large gains were observed when DS+ Zero Impact was used at lower levels.
Andrew said: “We conducted the trials to compare the DS+ to other equivalent products at the same application rates and then at reduced application rates to observe the slow release in action.
“Where we applied DS+ at the same rate of N as farm standard, we didn’t see too much difference in either yield or grain quality, which shows the product performs equally as well as the existing standard.
“At reduced rates is where the most impressive results were generated, however. We dropped rate of N by 33% compared to farm standard and what we saw was just a 0.4 t/h reduction in yield and no reduction in grain quality, which is a highly efficient outcome for the farmer, generating what is still a financially viable crop.
“When we cut N by 33% using the standard farm product, the yield drop was 1.2 t/h, which demonstrates how effective DS+ is at lower application rates.
“The results were recreated across four trial plots, ensuring a high degree of statistical accuracy and robust findings.”
He explains that the findings indicate an increase in the NUE of around 20%, thanks to the technology built into the fertiliser’s coating. Similar results were also recorded in Hampshire on a crop of Skyfall winter wheat.
“The coating and slow release, and the nitrification inhibitor built into the product, gives us far more efficiency from the applied nitrogen than we have observed before in other products.
“Couple this with the huge cut in carbon emissions required to make this product and you can see that it ticks a lot of the boxes farmers will need to consider for the future.”