“>
Photo: SuperAgronom.com Application of organic fertilizers
Own livestock farming can be not only a source of organic fertilizers but also a tool for reducing the cost of crop production. Having access to cattle manure and composts, FG “Pyatirirske” adjusts the application rates of mineral fertilizers, which allows saving up to UAH 5000/ha on phosphorus nutrition and another UAH 2160/ha on potassium.
Vadim Shpitun, operational director of FG “Pyatirirske,” told SuperAgronom.com about this.
Own livestock farming with 4000 heads of cattle allows the farm to reduce mineral nutrition costs: after applying manure and compost, phosphorus and potassium doses can be adjusted, and in some cases, completely eliminated.
Compost preparation and application are more cost-effective from a logistical standpoint, says Vadim Shpitun. The farm prepares about 25-30 thousand tons of composts.
He added that when applying composts, they consider the content of phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen in them, especially phosphorus and potassium.
“…if you apply organic matter, you still need to add nitrogen. So, we analyze and then calculate how much more needs to be applied with mineral fertilizers. On fields where 100 tons of cattle manure have been applied, we do not apply phosphorus and potassium,” he says.
The rate of mineral phosphorus and potassium is planned depending on the phosphorus and potassium content in the compost. For example, 10 tons of compost with a phosphorus content of 0.5% and potassium of 0.8% actually contain 50 kg of phosphorus and 80 kg of potassium.
“If we take, for example, 100 kg of amophos, the price of which reaches up to UAH 48,000/t, the savings are about UAH 5,000/ha for phosphorus, and for potassium, if we take the price of potassium chloride at UAH 27,000/t, then the savings are UAH 2160/ha,” argues the agronomist.
At the same time, the standard rate of compost applied to the fields in FG “Pyatirirske” is 10, maximum 15 t/ha. Higher application rates, according to Vadim Shpitun, are economically unjustified.
Melaniya Nesmachna, SuperAgronom.com
Learn about the latest agronomic news from Ukraine first on our Facebook page, Telegram, and subscribe to SuperAgronom’s Instagram.