by Bill Crabtree, Agronomist and General Manager of 4Farmers
We all know that chelates have many advantages over sulphates and oxides and 4Farmers are pleased to have copper, zinc and manganese chelates. But they are more expensive. So that is why we have used our expert chemist, David Seagreen, to invent something new.
WA farmers have just completed an incredible harvest, producing over 24 million tonnes of wheat. Each tonne of wheat removes 30 g of elemental zinc from the paddock. That equates to 720T of elemental zinc The stubble holds the same amount and does not quickly return to the soil. So, a 4 t/ha crop needs 120 g/ha of Zn to replace what is removed in the grain, and another 120g/ha plus more for the soil. So why worry about Zinc? Zinc is an essential micronutrient throughout the life cycle of the plant, allowing it to resist droughts and waterlogging as well as pests and diseases. It is an intrinsic component of cell walls, which is why zinc deficient plants look watery and soft.
The graph from Ross Brennan’s work many years ago showed massive yield responses to the addition of zinc on Esperance sandplain virgin soils. The addition of zinc lifted the yield from 1.0 t/ha to 2.2 t/ha. The black dots are Zn chelate, and the open triangles are Zn SO4. It was applied at the 2-leaf stage, this highlights the better plant uptake of the chelates.
So why a new Zinc formulation?
There is a cost saving opportunity if we can improve the uptake of Zinc Advance, a new formulation based on smaller ZnO particles and a blend. It will increase plant uptake and make it safer for the crop. Further, this is what David Seagreen says:
Zinc Advance is an innovative formulation to give an immediate and sustained response to a zinc deficient crop.
Zinc Advance is formulated from a true chelate Zinc EDTA and a finely milled small particle size which is bio available zinc oxide.
Zinc Advance is compatible with most farm chemicals and UAN and is easy to tank mix.
Zinc Advance can be applied as a seed coating at 5L/T
Happy to chat on 0417 223 395. Please contact your 4Farmers distributor or sales@4farmers.com.au.
Learn more and enquire about 4Farmer’s Zinc Advance