ENHANCE YOUR CROP PERFORMANCE

YaraVita foliar fertilisers are the efficient, reliable and easy way to enhance your crop performance.

According to Yara Crop Nutrition Commercial Manager, Paul Eitzen, They deliver essential micronutrients to cereal, canola and cotton crops to optimise growth or reduce the risk of crop damage, according to Yara Crop Nutrition Commercial Manager, Paul Eitzen.

“YaraVita products are an essential part of any integrated crop nutrition solution for farmers who want to increase efficiency and crop performance.,” he says.

“They enable farmers to address specific nutritional challenges or adverse growing conditions at any time from germination to harvest.”

“The YaraVita portfolio supports sustainable farming by enabling growers to achieve maximum yield potential with fewer inputs. The formulations are designed for maximum nutrient use efficiency and when used at the recommended dosage, do not have a negative impact on the environment.”

“As highly concentrated formulations, lower application rates are utilised to provide the correct amount of nutrient to the crop when compared to many other products, reducing transport, storage, handling and packaging waste.”

“YaraVita products are formulated to ensure crop safety and optimum performance. Each formulation contains all the necessary wetters, stickers and absorption aids to enhance crop safety and uptake by the plant and ultimately, the best return on your investment in crop nutrition.,” Paul says.

Independent research has confirmed that YaraVita foliar fertilisers pose significantly less risk to crops than chelated formulations, despite delivering much higher concentrations of nutrients.1

In one study, the performance of YaraVita MANTRAC PRO, COPTRAC and ZINTRAC was compared to that of chelated manganese, copper and zinc formulations. Each pair of treatments delivered the same concentration of nutrients (500 g/L manganese, 500 g/L copper and 700 g/L zinc).

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

In this trial, all three YaraVita formulations produced significantly lower levels of phytotoxicity than chelated products.

“YaraVita products are also compatible with a wide range of crop protection products for cost-effective, one-pass application. Data from Yara’s Tankmix confirms that YaraVita products can be mixed easily with other agrochemical products.

You can access over 30,000 tank mixes at by visiting www.tankmix.com . These mixes can be ordered around the clock, 24 hours a day all year round ovia the website or by r downloading the free Tankmix IT app.

YaraVita fertilisers are packaged in 10 litre ‘A Pack’ recyclable polyethylene bottles, including the labels and caps. All YaraVita bottles and caps are recyclable at drumMUSTER.

“Packaging design and size have an important role in the safe and easy handling of crop nutrition products,” Paul says.

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

Yara’s R&D and production facilities in Pocklington, UK have extensively tested YaraVita products to meet quality and consistency standards. The high quality and consistency of YaraVita products is certified throughout the production process. This includes certification of the quality of raw materials in manufacturing; ISO certification of quality management and GlobalG.A.P, a trademark and set of standards for good agricultural practices.

“These standards cover everything from where and how we source raw materials, right through to formulation, manufacture, trials, labelling and logistics,” Paul says.

“Many of the raw ingredients are sourced from the cosmetic, food or pharmaceutical sectors.”

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

Farmers can be assured that by using YaraVita, they can depend on the product’s quality and consistency to achieve high crop yield.

Other crop nutrition products marketed by Yara Australia are YaraMila NPK compound fertilisers, YaraRega soluble NPK compound fertilisers, YaraTera crystalline fertilisers and YaraLiva calcium nitrate fertilisers.

ORGANIBOR- A SOLUTION TO BORON APPLICATION

The role of boron in crop nutrition is far more diverse than many of us realise. We often think of boron as a requirement for pollen viability (mixed fruit size, poor fruit set) but it is also essential for cell structure and strength, disease resistance, healthy root production and calcium mobility within plants.

However, there can be a fine margin between deficiency and toxicity –and easy leaching out of the soil profile – boron works with calcium to build a strong cell structure in plants to prevent symptoms like internal flecking in potatoes or hollow heart in brassicas. It also has a prominent role in pollination and is needed for proper root elongation.

Boron management in most crops can be challenging. Fully soluble forms of boron that can be blended into fertiliser mixes must be applied at modest doses to manage the risk of toxicity.

Boron is highly prone to leaching, particularly in sandy soils, and will not remain present in the soil with regular rainfall or irrigation. Foliar sprays are an option but with boron being needed constantly through the plant’s growth cycle frequent applications are required.

One solution is to use a slow-release form of boron.

Omnia Specialities is the Australian distributor for OrganiBOR, a boron product containing calcium and magnesium borate (Hydroboracite) that are citrate soluble rather than water soluble. It is also a certified input for organic producers.

OrganiBOR granules are essentially insoluble in water. When in contact with the soil OrganiBOR breaks down slowly via microbial activity and natural weathering in a moist environment. Under these conditions soil Boron levels are seen to increase within a matter of weeks and, as they continue to break down, the granules provide a constant supply of available boron to crops until the granules ultimately disappear. During this breakdown process OrganiBOR will create a Boronrich soil environment for a period of 1 to 3 years depending upon rates and environmental factors.

Table 1 below shows a recent glasshouse trial where 2 soluble boron forms were applied to the soil in comparison to OrganiBOR in capsicums. All 3 products were applied at rates adjusted to apply the equivalent of 2.5kg of elemental boron per hectare. The soluble boron products caused visual toxicity symptoms and significantly decrea sed plant growth. However, OrganiBOR showed no toxicity symptoms.

More importantly, OrganiBOR increased the weight of the capsicum fruit over control, whereas the toxicity of soluble boron reduced fruit growth.

Calcium content was also statistically increased by the application, which indicates the correct balance of boron supply leading to healthy root growth and calcium uptake.

Table 2 below displays soil Boron increases in tree crops from one application of OrganiBOR over several years.

The bottom line. Growers have consistently seen good boron availability for at least two seasons per application of OrganiBOR.

This makes it a ‘set and forget’ product where the soil can be treated every two years, using soil tests to monitor levels, regardless of how many crop cycles are carried out. The combination of ease of use, crop safety and consistent boron supply to the crop make this the premier boron solution for vegetable crops.

Find out more. Please visit omnia.com. au/agronomists to contact your local Omnia Specialist Agronomist.