Western Mineral Fertilisers is a
locally owned Western Australian company and has
been involved in supplying mineral fertilisers since
1997. Recently, a manufacturing facility was
established at Tenterden in WA. The company
specialises in the formulation and manufacture of
granulated mineral fertilisers.
Western Mineral Fertilisers also specialises in
the relatively new understandings associated with
microbiology and soil biology. Experts from across
Australia have been consulted to develop diverse
fertiliser products and programs.
The concept
underpinning the development of fertilisers, and the
use of microbes, is “Living Soil”. Although not a
new idea, it has generally been neglected in more
recent times. To view the soil as ‘living’ enables
us to view new ways of managing both soil structure
and soil management practices.
What do we mean by
living soil?
A
soil that is living is active. It has a balance of
ALL nutrients. Beneficial microbes existing in the
soil are encouraged by minerals. Organic matter and
soil structure are maintained. In many Australian
soils, continuous cropping and ‘current’
agricultural management practices, especially with
traditional soil types, has resulted in losses of
organic matter and an associated decline in soil
structure1,2,3.
A
common misconception is that all fertiliser
applications directly feed the plants. What is
important to understand is that certain soil
microbes take up the nutrients at some time in their
life cycles. These microbes either pass nutrients
directly to the plants4,5,6,
or eventually die and release the inorganic
nutrients into the soil in a ‘bio-available’ form
for plant roots to utilise 6.
Therefore, feed the microbes, they in turn feed the
plants.
Living soil is achieved when a natural balance
occurs between three important concepts - Minerals,
Microbes and Mulch.
-
Minerals – includes the following concepts
a)
Cation Exchange – soils ability to retain nutrients.
b)
Soil Balance (the balance can be more important than
the actual levels of mineralisation).
c)
Total Exchange Acidity (the total affect of all
elements on soil, and not just Hydrogen – pH). This
allows for better management decisions on all
factors affecting acidity.
d)
The effect ALL minerals have on soil biology and the
notion that the removal of any crop (animal or
vegetative) requires the replacement of the FULL
spectrum of minerals. (Not just the NPKs or major
trace minerals).
2.
Microbes
Microbes are arguably the most important
consideration in managing the living soil.
Maintaining microbe diversity, health and survival
is extremely important. Soil microbes are
responsible for the greater percentage of nutrient
recycling within the soil. They are also
responsible for improved fertiliser efficiency
8. As an example, certain
microbes are nitrogen drivers, whether they fix
Nitrogen from the air, organic matter or from
‘synthetic’ matter.
3.
Mulch
Organic matter and Carbon play a critical role by
providing the basic building block nutrients in the
soil. They assist with water holding capacity,
while maintaining aeration and the basis for a
healthy biological environment.
Consideration of these three major factors,
(Minerals, Microbes and Mulch), is critical when
developing a fertiliser program.
The success of a mineral fertiliser program is very
much based on the effect of soil microbiology on
mineral fertilisers.
The approach adopted by Western Mineral Fertilisers
is a significant paradigm shift in how soil and
plant growth is viewed.
| FROM: |
Standard agricultural
practices, where the soil is basically treated
as a medium to hold a plant. This approach
assumes the only necessary additives are the
nutrients required by the plant. Little
consideration is given to how soil behaves or
the biological steps required to convert
nutrients into bio-available nutrients. |
|
TO: |
Treating the soil as the most important
asset, as a living identity. This approach
considers all of the dynamics of soil
chemistry, biology and geology, and aims to
provide farmers with enough knowledge to make
informed decisions. |
Understanding How
Soils and Fertilisers Work
Understanding the soil, and how fertiliser acts in
soil, is important in helping farmers to determine
their fertiliser needs. Mineral fertilisers are
unique when compared to many ‘synthetic’
fertilisers, because mineral fertilisers can
actually improve the soil.
Remember, nutrient availability is largely
determined by the three main factors – Minerals,
Microbes and Mulch. Maximum nutrient availability
occurs when all three factors are satisfied.
The use of ‘synthetic’ fertilisers can result in
several adverse effects on the soil, these being:
soil acidification, soil imbalance, the depletion of
organic matter, and damage to soil biology. These
effects can in turn influence the rate and
uniformity of nutrient exchange 7.
Consequently, farmers have to increase fertiliser
inputs to try and achieve the same yields and the
same response.
In
contrast, mineral fertilisers have many significant
and beneficial effects on the soil, these being:
stimulation of biological activity, helping to
balance soils, and mobilising locked-up nutrients.
The majority of nutrient exchange in soil, (such as
seen in various nutrient cycles), is driven by
microbes. The soil conditions must be favourable
for these microbes.
All of the benefits result in efficient nutrient
exchange and uptake. Root systems become healthier
and more vigorous, and have a greater capacity for
nutrient absorption.
Using Mineral and
Synthetic Fertilisers Together
When ‘synthetic’ and mineral fertilisers are used in
tandem, more efficient use is made of the soluble
component of the fertiliser. Better crop response
has been observed 8
because the mineral fertiliser encourages the living
aspects of the soil, and helps negate the adverse
effects of ‘synthetic’ fertilisers. Because mineral
fertilisers are a long-term proposition, they will
continue to realise improvements in the soil. The
soil can therefore maintain maximum nutrient
availability to feed the crop, as it is required.
References:
1
Dalal RC and Mayer RJ (1986). Long-term trends
in fertility of soils under continuous cultivation
and cereal cropping in southern Queensland. IV. Loss
of organic carbon from different density fractions.
Australian Journal of Soil Research 24, 301-309.
2
Dalal RC and Mayer RJ (1987). Long-term trends
in fertility of soils under continuous cultivation
and cereal cropping in southern Queensland. VI. Loss
of total nitrogen from different particle-size and
density fractions. Australian Journal of Soil
Research 25, 83-93.
3
Haines PJ and Uren NC (1990). Effects of
conservation tillage farming on soil microbial
biomass, organic matter and earthworm populations,
in north-eastern Victoria. Australian Journal of
Experimental Agriculture 30, 365-371.
4
Smith PM, H Winter, PJ Storer, JD Bussell, KA
Schuller, CA Atkins (2002). Effect of short-term
N(2) deficiency on expression of the ureide pathway
in cowpea root nodules; Plant Physiol
Jul;129(3):1216-21
5
Abdel-Fattah GM; Shabana YM. (2002). Efficacy
of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus clarum
in protection of cowpea plants against root rot
pathogen Rhizoctonia solani; Zeitschrift Fur
Pflanzenkrankheiten Und Pflanzenschutz Journal of
Plant Diseases and Protection 109(2):207-215.
6
Casarin V., Claude Plassard, Philippe Hinsinger
and Jean-Claude Arvieu (2004) Quantification of
ectomycorrhizal fungal effects on the
bioavailability and mobilization of soil P in the
rhizosphere of Pinus pinaster;
New Phytologist
163 (1): 177
7
Dinnes D., D. Jaynes, T. Kaspar, T. Colvin, C.A.
Cambardella and D.L. Karlen (2003)
Plant-Soil-Microbe N Relationships in High Residue
Management Systems USDA-ARS National Soil Tilth
Laboratory
8
Fenchel T., G.H. King, T.H. Blackburn (1998),
Bacterial Biogeochemistry: The Ecophysiology of
Mineral Cycling Academic Press, San Diego (2nd
ed.)
