At LiquaForce Australia our key focus is to deliver sustainable fertiliser solutions that meet agronomic best practice with sustainable resource management and improved environmental outcomes.

Soil health has become a key focus for sustainable farming outcomes, so we’re developing a range of soil health cultural tools to boost your potential for realising significant soil health improvements along with decreased inputs and higher yields in the longer term.

Here we share the Top 5 Cultural Soil Health Advantages of using LiquaForce products.

1. Liquid Ezy 3 crop nutritional management program

Recent studies from overseas and here in Queensland have shown that a single nitrogen application aimed at providing the entire nitrogen requirements for the full crop cycle is a practice that Creates a large nitrogen pool which is far greater than the crops capacity to uptake and promotes nitrogen losses through volatilisation and leaching compared to split applications at a value which match the plants uptake requirements. (Brackin, R. et al. Nitrogen fluxes at the root-soil interface show a mismatch of nitrogen fertilizer supply and sugarcane root uptake capacity. Sci. Rep. 5, 15727; doi: 10.1038/srep15727 (2015).

The LiquaForce Ezy 3 management programme achieves split applications of liquid fertilizers including nitrogen via fast efficient passes which do not add extra work to current practices.

Planting: Add PlantStarter21 to your planter tank for easy application
Ratooning: Replace traditional granular applications with fast, efficient and safe liquid application using the BigShot range.
Late season top up: Hold back a portion of the nitrogen and Potassium and apply with the final weed control pass or apply as a foliar top up in January or February.

2. The process of desorption of soil organic matter by ammonia-based fertilisers from organomineral complexes in soils

This study has shown a relationship between ammonia-based fertiliser (nitrogen) and its ability to remove soil organic carbon from the soil mineral structure.

The study showed the loss of soil organic carbon was significantly reduced when the LiquaForce enhanced liquid fertilizer was used via its ability to stimulate soil biology and reduce nitrogen losses as leachate and via that process prevent the loss of soil organic carbon.
(Pittaway, P. A., A. R. Melland, D. L. Antille, and S. Marchuk. 2018. Dissolved Organic Carbon in Leachate after Application of Granular and Liquid N–P–K Fertilizers to a Sugarcane Soil. J. Environ. Qual. 47:522-529. doi:10.2134/jeq2017.11.0433)

3. Practicing minimum tillage and reducing compaction

Liquaforce BigShot applicators apply fertiliser as a subsoil placement to 150mm within the root zone without tynes or major soil disturbance.

This means:
• Minor root disturbance
• No impact on soil biology especially fungal communities
• No risk of soil sediment loss from disturbed soils
• Compaction is minimised via the 5-row applicator impacting far less interrow space than a 3-row granular applicator.

4. Meeting water quality compliance requirements

By using the Liquaforce Ezy3 Program we reduce nitrogen losses significantly compared to a single application of fertiliser. The aim being to meet the crop growth stage demand rather than throw a massive dose of N in the paddock and hope for the best.

Our Enhanced Efficiency Fertiliser using organic carbon to stimulate soil biology is proven to reduce nitrogen losses via leaching and volatilisation by 23% with the PlantStarter and 17% with the BigShot range, effectively converting the fertiliser to a slow release organic form.

The third option for splitting nitrogen applications is achieved using the LiquaForce ValuN foliar and STABLE N basal fertilisers which give a late season application in conjunction with weed control practices via high-rise sprayers or aircraft.

The LiquaForce Ezy 3 program also meets all the objectives of water quality regulations, BMP and Six Easy Steps while also collecting application data which can be imported directly to your Farm Nutrient Management Plan.

5. Exciting new value-add products to use in conjunction with your LiquaForce fertilisers

• Aqua-Sil, Soil Conditioner TDS©

Aqua-Sil is a micro-emulsion of a modified siloxane for use in improving drainage and penetration of rainfall and irrigation water by promoting the function of capillaries in clay soils. This product is reported to be 50 times more effective than gypsum for displacing sodium from clay soils.

• Biological and Soil Amendments

LiquaForce is an agency for several live biology soil amendments which can be added to our liquid products at application.

Organic certified Guano, this is a natural source of phosphorous which meets organic certification requirements.

Agri- Silica, this is a natural silica product available as fines, flake or liquid formulations and is proven to boost plant health with corresponding yield gains.

Got any questions? Drop our agronomist Luke a line at luke@liquaforce.com.au