ADAS has been awarded £98,000 to review nutrient management information as part of AHDB’s drive to bring the “very latest in nutrient research” to UK farmers.
Designed to deliver benefits for both arable and livestock farmers, the review is part of a new programme of work, being overseen by the AHDB-led UK Partnership for Crop Nutrient Management. The aim is to publish a new nutrient management guide as early as 2017.
“There are around 40 organisations involved in the revision,” said partnership chair, George Lawrie. “It is essential our partnership is inclusive, as organisations involved in nutrient management research can help us both access nutrient management information and form robust recommendations.”
The review process will be structured around the following work packages:
- Principles of crop nutrient management – to provide a solid knowledge foundation for nutrient management.
- Organic materials – to improve the quality of information on dry matter and nutrient values for a wide range of organic materials.
- Grass and forage – to address the applicability of current data for grazed and cut grass and to improve recommendations for forage crops
- Cereals and oilseeds – to revise recommendations for nitrogen, sulphur and micronutrients.
- Potatoes – to evaluate nitrogen requirements (based on potato determinacy/variety) and to assess offtake values for potassium and phosphorus.
- Horticulture – to review the crops considered and to improve nitrogen recommendations for field vegetables, sweetcorn, leeks, baby leaf salad and field grown herbs. The review will also cover crop uptake and offtake information, as well as nutrient requirements of crops grown in soilless substrates.
Headline image shows UK Partnership for Crop Nutrient Management team members, representing 40 research, farm promotion and commercial organisations.