Farmers see resources for a technological breakthrough in the use of mineral fertilizers.
The Don region traditionally opens the new season of spring field work with a large-scale business event: the Agro-Industrial Forum of the South of Russia brought together representatives from all regions of the region and neighboring territories. Conferences, seminars and round tables are an opportunity to discuss with experts the issues of agricultural technology that are relevant this year. And the technique, equipment and preparations from leading domestic and foreign manufacturers, which are presented in abundance at the Interagromash and Agrotechnologies exhibitions, will help to turn the theory into successful practice.
There is potential for growth
The tasks that the region’s agro-industrial complex faces this year were formulated by the region’s governor Vasily Golubev – not to reduce production volumes.
“According to the results of 2022, the index of agricultural production amounted to 110%. An unprecedented harvest was harvested – more than 15.4 million tons of grain, 2.2 million tons of oilseeds. And now, despite global challenges, the Rostov region remains the leading region in the export of agricultural products,” said Vasily Golubev.
According to the head of the region, crop production is a profitable industry, “but there is work to be done to keep the production level growing. The Rostov region has the potential to grow almost all types of domestic crops and increase their production.”
One of the priority areas in the region, to which the governor drew the attention of farmers, is increasing land fertility.
– Due to the depletion of the main nutrients in recent decades, there has been a decrease in soil fertility. To change the situation, it is necessary to apply mineral fertilizers: guaranteed high yields are impossible without a balanced mineral nutrition of plants, – said Vasily Golubev.
Merit of PhosAgro-Don
The delegation of the region headed by the governor visited the stand of PhosAgro-Don, a traditional partner of Don farmers in the field of mineral plant nutrition. The company is part of the largest Russian distribution network of mineral fertilizers PhosAgro-Region (PhosAgro Group). At the exhibition, she presents new mineral nutrition systems, as well as a new agrochemical soil survey service to improve the efficiency of mineral fertilizer use.
— PhosAgro-Don continues to develop the logistics of mineral fertilizers in the region, we have five distribution centers, deliveries have confidently reached 250-300 thousand tons per year. This year we plan to increase the capacity for liquid complex fertilizer. This promising brand shows high efficiency in the conditions of the Rostov region and is especially relevant for arid regions. Over the past five years, the volume of deliveries has more than tripled,” Roman Kalashnikov, director of PhosAgro-Don, told the governor.
Vasily Golubev thanked PhosAgro-Don for their cooperation and wished them success in developing logistics to make fertilizers even more accessible to farmers: “We have been working together for a long time, we see good volumes of fertilizer consumption.”
New technologies – in wide production
As part of the forum, PhosAgro-Don organized a conference and a round table where farmers and industry experts can discuss important aspects of managing mineral nutrition in the arid conditions of the Rostov region and learn tools to increase the efficiency of agricultural production using PhosAgro fertilizers.
The weather conditions of this autumn and winter do not allow farmers to hope for super-high yields. However, if good rainfall occurs in early spring, farmers can maintain last year’s bar, said Associate Professor of the Department of Agrochemistry and Ecology of the Don State Agrarian University, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences Anton Gromakov at a conference on mineral nutrition in the arid conditions of the Rostov Region, organized by PhosAgro-Don as part of Interagromash 2023.
According to the expert, today everything depends on technology, and especially on working with mineral fertilizers.
– In the Rostov region, we see a direct relationship between the level of productivity and the volume of fertilizer use. At the same time, crops are growing faster than farmers are increasing fertilizer application. According to our calculations, now only 50% of the amount of nutrients absorbed by plants is returned to the soil with fertilizers. That is why it is necessary to increase the use, – said Anton Gromakov.
— For stable growth, it is important to consider the balance of nutrients. The economics of production depends on how competently agricultural producers use fertilizers,” Roman Kalashnikov agrees.
Balanced nutrition at the right time
PhosAgro-Don’s assortment includes over 50 brands of mineral fertilizers, from which each agricultural producer can choose those that can most effectively solve the problem of increasing the yield of any field crops in his field. Among them are innovative brands of complex fertilizers with macro-, meso- and microelements in one granule. They help in optimal terms to provide plants with a balanced diet.
The use of new brands of PhosAgro fertilizers with trace elements in one granule is a tool for fine-tuning the mineral nutrition systems of plants. Depending on the crop, yield increases from their use can reach 10-40%. For example, on soybeans in the Lipetsk region, when using the boron-containing fertilizer APAVIVA + NPK (S) 15:15:15 (10) + 0.3B, the yield increase was 20%, and additional income – about 40 thousand rubles / ha (compared to the standard scheme used on the farm – diammophoska and saltpeter). In the Bryansk region, the use of zinc-containing sulfoammophos on corn made it possible to obtain an increase in yield of more than 1.5 t/ha (compared to conventional sulfoammophos). Now these technologies are available to the farmers of the Don.
Agrochemical soil survey is the key to cost optimization
According to acting chief agronomist JSC “Kolkhoz im. Myasnikyan” by Hambartsum Khatlamadzhyan, all elements of agricultural technology affect the yield. It is equally important to carry out all operations on time, in accordance with the strategy of mineral nutrition, determined on the basis of the results of an agrochemical survey of soils.
“The balance of nutrients is important here, we actively use phosphorus-containing brands of PhosAgro – ammophos, sulfoammophos. Fertilizers are always fresh, it is not a problem to work with them,” the agronomist noted. Last year, the grain yield in JSC Kolkhoz im. Myasnikyan” was 67 centners per hectare, which is one of the highest rates in the region.
An important condition for qualitative analysis is the correct selection of soil samples, only this helps to obtain objective data and interpret them correctly. PhosAgro-Region experts carry out soil sampling using modern equipment — automatic samplers with GPS tracking. After the agrochemical analysis of samples in accredited laboratories, the agricultural enterprise receives a detailed report on the studies carried out and recommendations on the use of fertilizers from the agronomic service.
“Agrochemical survey must be carried out every year, as this is the most important tool for determining the strategy of mineral nutrition,” said Ambartsum Khatlamadzhyan. – Therefore, this service is very relevant and appeared in our region in a timely manner.
Full version on the website Rostov region plans to increase productivity
