Biologicals have staked their claim as a staple of fertility programs among growers big and small. A lack of readily available nutrients in your soil can not only impact plant health, but can drive up costs and reliance on applied fertility. Biologicals can bridge this gap! This not only allows growers to get more out of their applied nutrient program but provides the opportunity to take advantage of nutrients that are already in the soil.
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If published estimates on fertility efficiency are correct:
- Only 30%-70% of applied Nitrogen gets to the plant.
- Only 30%-60% of applied Potassium gets into the plant.
- Only 5%-30% of applied Phosphorus is taken up by the crop.
· *Estimates from a 2018 industry presentation by Dominique DePallo Argo-Research
This means 70% to 95% of the applied phosphorus is lost or tied up in the soil.
Most soils contain a deep well of P and K that is simply not picked up on your typical soil test. Microbes can bridge the gap to make these minerals available!
Phosphorus
Total Phosphorus (TP) is a measurement used almost exclusively for a geological assay for mining or land use determinations and is not typically offered at an agricultural soil testing laboratory. TP concentrations in the soil usually fall within the range of 500 to 800 ppm, 32 times the levels you see on the average soil test.
One of the main reasons phosphorus applications are inefficient is because phosphorus readily binds to calcium, iron, aluminum, silicate minerals, hydrous oxides, and carbon, in the soil humus. As opposed to solubility, bioavailability occurs when the unique characteristics of soil microorganisms help access phosphorus from this deep well in your soil. More biology, more available phosphorus.
Potassium
Total Potassium (TK) within the soil is also far greater than what is reflected in the soil tests farmers rely on. It is estimated that most Midwestern soils have as much as 40,000 pounds per acre of potassium in the top six inches.
Phosphorus and Potassium Cycles
Decades of research have gone into studying the chemical side of soil nutrients, including desorption and adsorption of P and K from soil particles into soil solution. Critically important is how these elements make the conversion from being affixed on the surface of clay particles into an exchangeable state. The role of biology is essential in this conversion.
Traditional thinking has most plant-available nutrients coming from soil minerals and applied fertilizer sources, with very little entering the plant from organic sources. Recent research has shown that more than 66% of the nutrients a plant takes up may come from organic sources such as plant residues and animal manure. Especially for growers using animal manures to supplement their nutrient profile, insufficient microbial activity contributes to the reason nutrients may be locked up and not mineralized in a timely fashion for the crops’ needs.
Robust, diverse biology will facilitate greater nutrient cycling and improve the efficiency of uptake by plants through the breaking of the chemical bonds of adsorption and carrying those nutrients to the plant roots. Without the aid of biology, plants must rely entirely on undirected chemical and physical reactions to desorb nutrients from the soil surfaces, which is inefficient and ineffective at producing yields near their full potential.
The Purple Cow Take:
Plants don’t take up dry inputs. Fertilizers either solubilize based on time and temperature, while moisture or biology converts them. Using a diverse broad-spectrum biological can help ensure that the maximum amount of soil and applied nutrients are being utilized in your system.
A diversity of microorganisms from a broad-spectrum biological will ensure that the maximum amount of soil nutrients is utilized.
If there is moisture and the plants are still not getting nutrients, three considerations stand out:
- A mineral imbalance - This can be from either excess or deficiency.
- Diminished energy and exchange capacity, often related to high salt factors.
- Minerals that are chelated or tied up in the growing system.
There are many reasons and corrective steps to address the 3 factors above.
One significant advantage of a liquid fertility program is how nimble these programs can be. Rather than applying minerals in fall at a rate much higher than the plant needs, an observational grower, and perhaps a simple tissue test, can quickly address a deficiency if they see one. Plants get minerals much faster with a foliar pass on their leaves than with a field application through their roots. The corrective application can have an almost immediate impact.
The case is being made that increased phosphorus uptake is not achieved with more applied phosphorus; rather, through more applied biology. Horticulturalists are developing a deeper understanding that phosphorus and potassium come from the soil, are plentiful in manures, and can be biologically digested and made available from crop residue. Many soils have phosphorus and potassium from previous applications and, if needed, a fertility application can be made.
BIOACTIVE LiquiLife® can help you get the most out of the soil, manure, crop residue, and other inputs you apply. Adding the necessary microbes for nutrient cycling and conversion of nutrients to the proper form for plant uptake is an excellent way to increase fertility efficiencies and profit this season and for years to come.