Cooking oil is in short supply due in part to the war in Ukraine, as they and Russia account for 60% of the world’s sunflower oil. Together with Canada’s disastrous 2021 rape seed harvest, the global vegetable oil ‘stock-to-use’ ratio falling to 44 days. While its too late for UK farmers to increase their hectarage of oil seed rape, there is still time to maximise this season’s tonnage and increase oil content by using Folia-N Foliar nitrogen at mid-flower to petal fall.
Folia-N has been shown to boost yields by up to 0.4 t/ha and increase oil content by a further 10% as it provides both nitrogen and sulphur in highly available forms to the upper part of the plant, just when they are needed for oil production, and at a time when the main stems are becoming less able to transport nutrients to the pods from the roots.
It is generally accepted that spring soil nitrogen top-dressing applications for cereals and other crops achieve between 40-60% uptake, whereas the best achieved from late N applications based on earlier HGCA (ADAS) research was only 30%, which is bad news indeed for nitrate pollution, waste of cash and yield potential.
The numbers…
- The standard recommendation of 20 kg/ha N (60 kgs ammonium nitrate) generates plant uptake of only 30% – 6 kg/ha Nitrogen from late top-dressing applications.
- Folia-N at 25 l/ha delivers 11 kg/ha of nitrogen and 7.5 kgs of SO3 sulphur, which is 90% uptake-efficient, delivering 9.5 kg/ha nitrogen taken up into the plant – 50% more than the 6 kg by conventional top-dressing.
- Further to boosting yield and oil content, foliar applied Folia-N minimises Nitrous Oxide greenhouse gas emissions, unlike conventional nitrogen top-dressings.
Call to discuss or organise a quick delivery of Folia-N to farm.
