Managing nutrients to get maximum use efficiency

Nutrient use efficiency is vital for getting the most out of fertiliser applications. It comprises of 3 main elements:

1. Size of the root system
2. Source of the nutrient
3. Movement within the plant from root to leaf to grain. 

As a grower you can have a direct effect on the first two elements, whereas the third is more difficult as you can’t alter the rate of translocation within the plant, however you can understand the nutrient in terms of mobility and how this affects timings. 

So how can you impact upon the other two elements? Building a good root system from as early as possible through good establishment techniques. These could include a nutrient-based seed treatment such as YaraVita Glytrel MnP which gives the seed P and Mn to stimulate that early root development, placing a small amount of P&K at drilling to ensure the nutrients are where they are required. 

Also, into the spring, when the crop starts a period of rapid growth it is important to get the nitrogen on early (end of February) and use a compound fertilizer that has not only nitrogen but P, K and S too. Phosphate requirement is at its greatest (70% uptake) in wheat over a 4-8 week period in March to May therefore it is important to apply the P before this to ensure the crop has enough available phosphate to utilise when it needs it. 

Source of nutrient is key, for example if you’re applying rock phosphate to a crop that requires the phosphate soon after application, then you will miss that window of opportunity due to its need to be converted to a plant-available form; which could take a long time. 

Find more information on nutrient use efficiency and phosphate in the Crop Nutrition Knowledge search.