“
Simple cultivation could be what you need to improve soil structure
tablish if there is enough sulphur or phosphate, if the phosphate re- serves are available to the plant and most importantly are you get- ting the most out of your applied fertiliser. All of this can be estab- lished with a robust soil test.
5. Carbon
Although nitrogen is essential for plant growth, don’t overlook the carbon to nitrogen ratio. Build- ing OM is one way that a good balance can be achieved. Increase carbon levels in the soil by making your own com- post, chopping and incorporating straw, investing in cover crops, ap- plying digestate, using humic ac- ids, and liquid carbon-based fer- tilisers. These will all help to feed soil biology and build OM levels.
6. Tissue testing The next step is to establish if the
crop is receiving the correct nu- trition from the soil, as just be- cause the nutrients are in the soil, it doesn’t mean the plant can ac- cess them.
Tissue testing can give an indi- cation of the uptake of nutrients by the plant and help to deter- mine if any additional remedial work and fertiliser applications have been effective.
7. Evaluate Finally, evaluation is crucial. Go out with a spade after six months to check soil structure and compaction where you’ve made changes. Analyse the re- sults of soil samples and tissue tests and continue to take them regularly. Yield is important, but what we should be aiming for is long- term soil fertility so that we can continue to use the land for gen- erations to come.
George Hepburn is a biologi- cal soils expert at QLF Agrono- my. For more information on im- proving your soil health, contact George at
george@qlf.co.uk.
Take time to improve soil health – scientist
Farmers should spend more time handling and observing their soil – so they can improve its health, says a leading agri- cultural scientist.
“Scientists don’t know everything about soils and neither do farm- ers,” said Liz Stock- dale
(pictured),
NIAB’s head of farming system. “Knowing your tex- tures and the way soil works matters. We need to get out of our tractors and look at what we are dealing with.”
Dr Stockdale was talking at this year’s OF&G’s National Organic Combinable Crops con- ference, held last month at Shif- nal, Shropshire. Soil health was important regardless of wheth-
er the farming system was or- ganic or conventional, she said. “I have seen as good soils in
organic as in no-til systems. I of- ten take students to visit farms doing conservation agricul- ture and organic ones and see that the soil health is good in both – even though they are doing very different things.” Australian soil
scientist Joel Wil- liams talked about the
importance of building resil- ience into all farming systems by diversifying crops. Now in its 11th year, the NOCC conference brings to- gether more than 200 people from across food and farming, including organic and non-or- ganic.
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