As inorganic urea fertiliser prices rise, a timely reminder for growers to harness the benefits of utilising cost-effective and highly plant-available organic nitrogen sources
News from traders that urea prices have lifted by almost £40/T in the past month, now approaching £445-450/T delivered on farm in recent weeks, follows what has been a much quieter period in 2024 for fertiliser markets, when urea prices remained closer to £360/T for the majority of the year.
With fertiliser markets fluctuating since the year began, price rises appear to be mirroring the increased demand for gas and the decreasing global supply. With storage levels of gas in the UK and Europe at lower levels than considered normal for this time of year, traders are rightfully growing concerned about supply issues.
Kick-start your winter cereals with a 5% organic Nitrogen source
With quite high variability in winter crops coming into the critical spring period (following later autumn drilling and wet weather affecting field conditions) some crops are already behind. Looking to take advantage of premium quality organic Nitrogen sources would be a beneficial step for many growers this spring, whether conventional or organic growers.
Sea2Soil is one such source. It provides a great source of natural, organic nitrogen, so kick-start your winter cereal crops or early spring-sown crops with a 5% organic Nitrogen source, worth around 100/units of inorganic synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.
Sea2Soil application guidelines
Sea2Soil feeds soil micro-organism populations. The micro-organisms release nutrients from the soil, which feed the crop plants. This can take time, depending on the soil conditions such as temperature and moisture levels, so it is better to apply the product while the crop is young.
This gives growers as much of an advantage as possible, supporting the crop when it really needs it. For optimal application timing, apply Sea2Soil early in the crop’s life, to get the soil micro-organisms going as soon as possible. Spray in 100-200L/ha of water.
Timings
“We are very excited about these results and are keen to move forward with our distribution plan. Sea2Soil is a very active fish hydrolysate, produced in Scotland from responsibly resourced unused fish by-products and delivered directly to farms throughout the UK. To be able to take this ground-breaking product out to distributors backed by proven data is invaluable.”
Grant James, Business Development Manager at Sea2Soil
Winter cereals: Spray 10L/ha pre-emergence, or as soon after drilling as possible. Follow up with 10L/ha early in the spring as soon as you can travel. It is better to spray while the crop leaf area is small. For split applications we recommend 5 L/ha @GS30 followed by 5 L/ha @GS31-32
Winter oilseed rape: Spray 10L/ha pre-emergence, or as soon after drilling as possible. Follow up with 5 L/ha in the autumn (4-6 leaves). Then a further 5 L/ha in the spring before stem elongation.
Spring cereals, oilseed rape: Spray 10L/ha on backward cereal crops as soon as possible. Spray 10L/ha pre-emergence, or as soon after drilling as possible on OSR. Follow up with 5 or 10L/ha before stem elongation on winter cereals.
Comparing organic Nitrogen sources vs. synthetic nitrogen - what is the difference?
Organic growers need to quantify the amount of organic Nitrogen they add to their soil ecosystems in the same manner that conventional growers use inorganic Nitrogen units to calculate their Nitrogen requirements. Conventional growers looking to use Sea2Soil to supplement fertiliser use and/or reduce their reliance on synthetic Nitrogen fertilisers also need to understand what the product brings to the table.
Testing has shown that each ton of organic material with 1% Nitrogen content will provide the equivalent of 20 units of Nitrogen. Sea2Soil provides a great source of natural, organic Nitrogen. It contains 5% organic Nitrogen, which is worth around 100/units of inorganic synthetic Nitrogen fertiliser.
The efficiency of use by the plant is also much more favourable with organic Nitrogen sources, so this adds to the advantages that utilising sources of organic Nitrogen brings to growers. In comparison, a lot of inorganic Nitrogen can be left in the soil unused by the plant. Research indicates that plants seem to be more inclined to use organic Nitrogen than inorganic sources, making the organic variation a more beneficial plant-available form of Nitrogen.
Some caution is needed as organic Nitrogen sources will also vary in their efficiency in terms of ‘plant availability’ in the soil, meaning a range of response curves are possible with organic sources too. Using a very high-quality organic source, such as that derived from fish hydrolysate in Sea2Soil (along with all the other beneficial nutrients and amino acids in the product) is a great starting point for many crops this spring.
“Sea2Soil showed a significant reduction in the feeding of cabbage stem flea beetles on cotyledons within 2 days of application – several different rates showed a reduction in feeding damage up to 7 to days after application and may convey cover until they senesce.”
Adrian Harris BS, MSc from NIAB
What is Synthetic Nitrogen?
Synthetic, inorganic Nitrogen sources are of a totally different nature than organic Nitrogen. The term organic in this context should not be confused with its broader usage in ‘organic growing’. In this context, it refers to the carbon nature of its molecular structure. Inorganic Nitrogen, found in Nitrite, Nitrate, and ammonium forms, does not have Carbon in its molecule. Synthetic, inorganic Nitrogen is usually found dissolved or in a readily water-soluble form. Due to the unstable nature of synthetic Nitrogen, it easily volatilises into the atmosphere or is lost in ground or surface water.
Research studies have, in fact, revealed that 50%+ of nutrients from inorganic synthetic Nitrogen fertilisers can be lost into the atmosphere or into surface or ground water. This would indicate that inorganic Nitrogen unit rates need to be considered to allow for this inefficiency of use. For example, using 100 synthetic Nitrogen units, may only result in 50 units being actually used by plants, demonstrating a comparably low efficiency.
Organic Nitrogen, however, is much more efficient in providing Nitrogen nutrition to crops than inorganic sources. Less research work has been conducted on determining what are the levels of efficiency of organic Nitrogen in plant growth when compared to an inorganic variety. Some research work in the US in the sports turf amenity sector indicated that high-efficiency organic Nitrogen fertilisers provided a 200% greater level of effectiveness than inorganic synthetic fertilisers used.
While less industry-wide research has been carried out in relation to the efficacy of organic Nitrogen, key findings from recent studies Sea2Soil has commissioned with NIAB and The University of Nottingham – combining both farm-set trials and a non-replicated conventional study – have produced incredible results. Testing Sea2Soils’ efficacy against cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) damage as well as its impact on worm count, pH, carbon retention, moisture, porosity, and organic matter, these studies have proven that Sea2Soil can:
· Reduce CSFB damage to cotyledons by 32%
· Reduce CSFB damage to leaves by 90%
· Reduce CSFB damage to stems by 59%
· Increase earthworm numbers by 1.85M worms/Ha - 5 times the control
· Increase Soil Organic Matter content to 9.1% vs 6.7% (control soils)
· 1.2% increase in soil carbon content
“These results indicate substantial impacts for Sea2Soil on soil physical, chemical and biological properties, likely to benefit crop production. We have identified significant increases in earthworm abundance organic content, pH, soil moisture and porosity.”
Dr Nick Girkin from The University of Nottingham
Following the announcement of this exciting data, Sea2Soil is now continuing its work with both the Nottingham University Soil Department and NIAB into 2025 to further explore the capabilities of the product through replicated studies as well as extended field trials, respectively.
*Source acknowledgement: John B. Marler