What was the challenge/ problem addressed?
In many regions, the nitrate limit in groundwater is exceeded. For environmental protection reasons, a revision of the Fertiliser Ordinance was initiated, which significantly limits the framework conditions for fertilisation of agricultural crops in future. Particularly in areas with high nitrate levels, so-called red areas, fertilisation of only 80% of the nitrogen requirement of the corresponding crop will be permitted. In order to harmonise successful crop production and environmental protection, an improvement in nitrogen efficiency is absolutely essential. Thereof the main challenge was the need for improving the nitrogen efficiency in agricultural plant production hence the main aim of the project is to improve nitrogen efficiency through an innovative fertiliser system. The focus is on the site-specific application of the Albrecht method as a precise alternative to standardised fertilisation methods. The Albrecht method is a soil analysis procedure based on the determination of cation exchange capacity.The exchangeable cations are a good indicator of the nutrients plant-available nutrients in the soil.
How did you solve the problem?
With an innovative fertilization system which encompasses the following activities:
- Realisation of field trials in different yield ranges
- Comparison of the innovation approach (“Satellite + Albrecht”) with four reference variants: uniform fertilisation (“DSN”), site-specific systems (“Sensor 1”, “Sensor 2” and “Satellite”)
- Determination of nitrogen uptake and biomass formation at selected dates during the vegetation
- Harvesting with plot combine harvester and sampling of quality parameters of the harvested crop
- N-min sampling on characteristic dates
- Documentation, analysis, evaluation and publication of the results and observations
What is innovative in your practical case?
The combination of site-specific soil testing and fertilization with an alternative soil analysis method.
What are the success factors in solving the problem?
Extremely precise and intensive implementation of the field tests was the key to success.
Unexpected fails, if any
There were no failures.
Lessons learned
The biggest lesson was that outdoor experiments can be heavily influenced by the weather and many external influences.
It was also realised that the variants fertilised using the Albrecht method achieved a higher yield with the same nitrogen input compared to the reference quality (crude protein content) and thus have an increased nitrogen efficiency.
The technology required for this is also already available on many farms. Only the combination with data is more difficult for the individual farmer to implement and requires either specialised training or targeted advice counselling.
Team working and speacialisation was realised to be very important and allowing all actors to express their views for a discussion provided a clear way for the next phases of the project. Determination of all project actors made it easy for the project to flow smoothly.
Proper planning and goal oriented project management team helped the project to acchieve its objective without failures.Therefore it is important to do proper planning before the onset of the project.
What role does the advisor or advisory service play within the practical case?
They played a role in knowledge transfer and bringing actors together.They were in charge of coordinating the group meetings ,seminars and workshops through out the entire project time.They gave advices on matters arising dung the project.
Can your approach be transferred and/or adapted for other innovation challenges and regions?
Yes.
For sharing the experience on the good practice, please contact Matthias Stettmer (phone: 0049 9424 94030, mail: info@farmtastic.consulting / ms.eip-bofru@farmtastic.consulting
