TECHNICAL: There are various solutions for precisely spreading granular fertiliser along field boundaries. Ulrich Lossie, from Deula Nienburg, gives this low-down.
Spreading fertiliser products along field boundaries demands precision, even more so where there is a watercourse or public path or road. But achieving this with a broadcaster can be tricky: not only is each type of fertiliser different, but there can also even be variations in each batch of
fertiliser that impact its flight characteristics. Granule size, hardness, surface roughness and number of smaller granules in the batch are some of the physical parameters that have a strong influence on distribution — especially along field edges. Bear in mind that nitrogen and phosphorus are much more relevant for the environment and legislators when compared to fertilisers containing sulphur, potassium and lime, for example … although it is obviously in every farmer’s interest to apply these costly inputs in the fields and not beyond.
Field margins differ
The rules are not as strict for spreading along fields and verges where a few granules are tolerated just beyond the perimeter. However, this is clearly taken much more seriously when spreading along watercourses, when not a single granule is tolerated outside your field, not even if a gust of wind carries it beyond the targeted crop.
Some broadcaster companies offer spreading charts with just two border scenarios, namely yield-oriented boundary spreading work and environmentally optimized border spreading. For stricter spreading along watercourses, users often have to re-measure and adapt the supplied settings.
We will describe how you can best achieve this in next month’s profi when our team will be testing various border spreading systems. There are several ways of striking the best balance between environmental protection and optimizing yield potential. The border spreading discs on older broadcasters can be adjusted to match different fertilisers with good results as long as you put the time in to make the necessary adjustments. But this is not always practical for many farmers.
For more up-to-date farming news click here and subscribe now to profi and save.
