Of plant nutrients

In order to grow to their full potential, crops need the correct amount and balance of nutrients. When harvested, the crop removes these nutrients from the soil. They need to be replaced in sufficient and correct amounts, so that future crops can achieve their potential. As yields have increased, other sources of nutrients like soil reserves and livestock manure are not able to remedy this situation. To make up for the resulting shortfall, additional input of mineral fertilizers is necessary. But how much is too much, or too little?

Yara is devoted to finding out.

Nutrients are just one of many growth-limiting factors that determine how well a plant will grow, and what crop yields can be achieved. Along with the soil and the weather, they include water, light, temperature, diseases, crop genetic potential and others.

Modern farming developments over the past 150 years like mineral fertilizers, plant breeding, plant protection products, cultivation techniques and use of irrigation have enabled crop yields to increase dramatically.

Crops need several nutrients, but nitrogen is increasingly important

Crops need supplies of several nutrients and trace elements to grow successfully. Fourteen elements derived from the soil are indispensable for plant growth, and an additional four or five are beneficial to the development of some plants. The most important nutrient for general crop yield is nitrogen. Yields are typically doubled when nitrogen is applied at the optimum rate. Nitrogen also helps increase the amount of protein the plant can produce, thus lifting the nutritional value of the crop.

Too much is a waste Applying fertilizers at a rate that exceeds the plant’s requirements is costly and counterproductive, as well as it risks losing nutrients to the wider environment. Nitrogen can be lost from the soil to water by leaching and to the air by de-nitrification or volatilization. Phosphorus leached into water can promote algae growth. Livestock manures can be a major source of nutrient loss and pollution to the environment.

Too little is a waste

Applying too little fertilizer reduces yields and poor plant health can lower the plant’s resistance to disease. Low yields mean that the land is used inefficiently, which today is considered an environmental problem in itself.

To help our customers find the correct fertilizer rate for optimum yields, Yara has developed a series of tools that take the guesswork out of the equation.

YaraPlan determines the amount of fertilizer the crop requires by assessing the level of nutrients available from other sources, and selects the correct grade, as well. Megalab is an internet-based tool that converts soil and leaf analysis results into crop specific recommendations. N-Tester and N-Sensor, respectively, are hand held or tractor cab mounted based tools that measure and recommend the crop’s exact need for nitrogen.