Biofertiliser keeps drought-stressed beet growing

• Nutrient uptake in dry conditions

• Alternative to artificial fertilisers

• Helps crops reach yield potential

More growers are treating beet crops with nitrogen fixing bacteria biofertilisers to ensure plants have essential nutrients available during key growth stages in dry weather.

Early season applications of Vixeran lock nitrogen fixing capabilities into the plant and the soil biosphere through the growing season – even in dry conditions, says Syngenta technical manager Andy Cunningham.

Early nitrogen has been identified as especially important for the formation of a strong green leaf canopy in sugar beet. Vixeran applications are seen as a good alternative where artificial fertiliser uptake is compromised.

Recent trials in Holland found that a single Vixeran application at the five to eight leaf stage in sugar beet, delivered a 4 t/ha yield increase and 0.7% improvement in sugar content over a standard140kg N/ha fertiliser input.

Applied before the crop covered the ground, the trial also demonstrated that Vixeran could more than compensate with decent yield and sugar content when the artificial nitrogen was reduced by 40kg/ha.

Resilience

The specific endophytic bacteria strain of Azotobacter salinestris in Vixeran has been selected to work effectively in typical weather conditions in the UK and northern Europe, as well as improving resilience against periods of climatic extremes.

Trials have shown that the optimum timing for application in sugar beet is at the four to eight true leaf stage (BBCH 14-18), says Mr Cunningham. In potatoes, it is around the onset of tuber initiation.

“The target is to have sufficient leaf area for uptake into the crop, but also where spray can reach the soil and colonise the root zone with the nitrogen fixing bacteria, which will convert atmospheric nitrogen into available nutrient for the plant.

“That’s essential when the crops are going through rapid vegetative growth and setting the all-important yield potential for root development.”

With some areas receiving just 5-10% of average rainfall during March and the first three weeks of April, particularly in the primary root crop areas of eastern England, nutrient availability of applied artificial fertiliser was seriously limited.

Crop growth

Soil temperatures in most areas remained optimal for Vixeran biofertiliser activity, which quickly starts to generate readily available nitrogen to match crop growth – even in dry conditions, says Mr Cunningham.

For ease of application, Vixeran is tank-mix compatible with Priori Gold/Angle disease control in sugar beet – and with blight fungicides including Revus and Evagio Forte in potatoes.

Viceran can also be applied at the same timing with Quantis biostimulant, to manage temperature stress in both root crops.