An Omnia Fertilizer Publication

W I N T E R 2 0 0 8

WHEATNEW PERSONNELPASTURESSUGARCANECITRUSTEALATEST PRODUCTSAPPLESCOMBINED CONGRESS 2008

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Talk to us. It pays.Omnia House PO Box 69888 Tel: +27 (011) 709 877813 Sloane Street Bryanston, 2021 Fax: +27 (011) 463 3022Epsom Downs, RSA Gauteng, RSA

www.omnia.co.za hjvanvuuren@omnia.co.za

ZAMBIA ZIMBABWETel: +260 1 243 441 Tel: +263 4 369 390/1/2/4Fax: +260 1 246 542/3/4/5 Fax: +263 4 369 393

EXPORTS AUSTRALASIATel: +27 11 709 8899 Tel: +64 9 534 0309Fax: +27 11 709 8927 Fax: +64 9 534 0319

MALAWITel: +26 51 71 1310 / 71 0271Fax: +26 51 71 0287

WESTERN CAPE LOWVELDTel: (021) 975 2040/1 Tel: (013) 792 4234/5/6Fax: (021) 975 2083 Fax: (013) 792 4240

EAST COAST HIGHVELDTel: (033) 239 9700 Tel: (013) 665 2291/2Fax: (033) 239 9735 Fax: (013) 665 2284

FREESTATE NORTH WESTTel: (058) 304 8000 Tel: (018) 462 9831/2Fax: (058) 304 1830 Fax: (018) 462 2098

EASTERN CAPEPlease contact East Coast

LOCAL

INTERNATIONAL

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SUCCESS STORIES

Nutriology® increases Free State wheat yield ................................................................................................. 5

Foliar sprays increase tea yields ..................................................................................................................... 6

OmniPrecise™ successes in citrus ................................................................................................................ 11

Success with precision farming in Zimbabwe sugarcane ............................................................................ 16

Nutriology® increases buffalo count ............................................................................................................. 19

Nutriology® success in the Eastern Free State ............................................................................................. 22

ARTICLES

Fertilizer assists with belching problem .......................................................................................................... 9

Profitable wheat production with Nutriology®............................................................................................... 12

Combined Congress 2008 ............................................................................................................................ 20

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Yield increases with NUTRICAL 19™ on Golden Delicious apples ............................................................... 10

Looking after the little guys pays off! ............................................................................................................ 19

SEEDBOOST™ reduces risk on wheat .......................................................................................................... 22

REGULAR

Letters and comments .................................................................................................................................... 4

Product focus: SUPRASET™.......................................................................................................................... 8

Profile: Meet the experts .............................................................................................................................. 12

Book review ................................................................................................................................................... 23

On a lighter note............................................................................................................................................ 24

Nutriology® NewsletterEditor Hantie Jansen van VuurenContact number (011) 709-8778E-mail hjvanvuuren@omnia.co.zaPostal address PO Box 69888, Bryanston, 2021Physical address Omnia House, 13 Sloane Street, Epsom Downs

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of Omnia Fertilizer Ltd in writing.

CONTENTS

4

Letters and comments

W I N a P R I Z E !

Our anonymous writer wins a jacket for his letter. If you contribute the best letter for the next issue, this jacket can be yours. Feel free to write in English or Afrikaans and send it for the attention of Hantie Jansen van Vuuren. The postal address, e-mail address and fax numbers are elsewhere on this page. You may write under an alias, but please include your real name, postal address and telephone number. Please keep it short – we reserve the right to edit any letters. Your letter must reach us before the end of July 2008 to be considered for this prize.

Letters and comments

Dear Anonymous,

We appreciate your suggestion and comments. So, from now on, the Winter issue of the newsletter will appear in April and the Summer issue around September. The Winter issue will focus mainly on wheat and the Summer issue on maize. We will still feature other crops and stories. Comments from all readers are welcome!

Editor

LETTER FROM THE FIELD

I really enjoy getting the Omnia newsletters. It’s good to read about new products that can benefit my business as well as being reminded of the older products that still pack a punch.

One thing I would like to suggest is that you move the publication date of the magazine. Like most other farmers in South Africa, I plant maize and wheat. Usually when I get your newsletter, it’s too late for me to apply the new products I read about. If you can publish the newsletter before or after the season, I would have more time and I can then try the new products during the next season.

ANONYMOUS, FREE STATE

Please write to:

Hantie Jansen van Vuuren

PO Box 69888Bryanston2021South Africa

or

E-mail: hjvanvuuren@omnia.co.za

or

Faxs nr.: +27 11 463-3022

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Success Story

Fanie de Jager has been marketing Omnia products in the Reitz district, North East Free State, for the past 16 years.

A few years ago, Fanie heard a new word: Nutriology®. At first he was sceptical, however, Fanie learnt early-on in his career to explore new things.

He started taking OmniSap® samples of the major crops in his area. With this information at hand, Fanie now has a clear understanding of plants’ needs and how to apply any “medicine”.

Calne Farming, Daniëlsrus planted Pannar 3434 wheat with supplementary irrigation. Fanie assisted

with fertilizer recommendations as well as with irrigation scheduling. In an area where six tonnes per hectare is seen as “the ultimate yield”, Calne Farming achieved a yield of 7,11 tonnes per hectare!

On the second land, Matlabas wheat was planted without irrigation. Fanie worked out a liming programme as well as a fertilizer programme based on Nutriology®. A yield of 5,12 t/ha was achieved.

In both cases, hectolitre mass was 81 or over – that means Super Grade.

The client is satisfied and will not consider ever farming without Nutriology®.

7,11 t/ha!

increases NUTRIOLOGY®

F r e e S t a t e w h e a t y i e l d

Callie Venter (left) and Fanie de Jager (right) in die wheat field

Fanie de Jager082 570 2926

6

Success Story

OmniSap® samples were taken monthly and foliar nutrients applied as indicated from the results. Traditionally tea has been grown in acidic soils. This showed up in the initial OmniSap® analyses; aluminium levels in the leaves were high and the plants were not using nutrients in the leaf optimally.

We decided to change the nutrient balance and increase the level of activity in the plant cells. This was done using a monthly rotation of KELP-P-MAX™/OMNIBOOST™ and MAP/ KELP-P-MAX™.

As you can see from the results, this was extremely successful. Yield increases in the treated blocks only declined after spraying was stopped.

Omnia Zimbabwe Agent: R. Stone

FOLIAR SPRAYS 62% Overall increase!

INCREASE TEA YIELDS By Malcolm Jones

A view of the trial block

Let's just do the whole estate, now!

Zimbabwe has seen a dramatic increase of a different kind. This time it’s not in the price of consumer goods, but in the Tanganda Tea Company’s crop yields!

In the Eastern Highlands on the Mozambique border lies Tanganda’s 2,500 hectares of tea estates. Here tea nutrition has not changed much in the last 30 years. However, the latest farming techniques like Precision Farming and foliar nutrition are creating much interest in the sub-Saharan tea industry. In January 2006, Tanganda experimented with OmniPrecise™ on a demonstration block of tea. Later that same year they decided to test the efficacy of Omnia Nutriology® foliar sprays on tea.

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Success Story

Based on these results, Tanganda Tea Company is looking at increasing the area under foliar application and Precision Farming from 25 hectares to 800 hectares.

The tea producer communicates well with others in the SADCC region. Given similar successes in Malawi, we are looking forward to positive changes in the approach to tea nutrition over the whole region.

At a price of US$ 1.00 per kilogramme of processed tea, you can see from the table that the overall yield increase was just over 60%. The US$ benefit, including all additional costs, was US$ 836.37 per hectare. This related to an increased profit of just under 49%. Other costs of spraying, such as labour, were not taken into account.

Block ATreated

Block BControl

Block GTreated

Block HControl

Processed tea/ha 1,297 797 1,327 838

Value/ha US$ 1,297.22 US$ 796.83 US$ 1,327.38 US$ 838.10

Nutriology® programme US$ 2,624.60

General programme US$ 1,634.92

Difference US$ 989.68

Cost foliar US$ 153.32

Benefi t US$ 836.37

Product Focus

Composition:

Nitrogen 20.5 g/kgPhosphorus 46 g/kgMagnesium 8 g/kgSulphur 11 g/kgIron 93 mg/kg EDTA ChelatedCopper 1 mg/kg EDTA ChelatedManganese 19 mg/kg EDTA ChelatedZinc 12 mg/kg EDTA ChelatedMolybdenum 2 mg/kg Boron 24 mg/kgGibberellins 3.371 g/kgAuxins 0.34 mg/kg

SUPRASET™ is recommended for orchards in full production. Make sure that the fertigation or plant nutrition programme can support the increased fruit load.

For more information on these products, contact your Omnia Nutriology® agronomist.

Gibberellins have been shown to strengthen the connection between the developing fruit and the tree. Included in the formulation are nutrients that stimulate the tree’s metabolism into producing the additional sugars needed to support the heavier fruit load.

SUPRASET™

The fruitset foliar

SUPRASET™ was formulated to increase yield by increasing fruitset.

Trials with SUPRASET™ have shown a yield increase of 6% (3.3 tonnes per hectare) in citrus without any reduction in fruit size. With macadamia, yield increases of up to 30% in young trees three to five years old (up to 330 kg/ha) were observed.

Mango trials gave yield increases of up to 30%, which was equivalent to up to 480 kg/ha.

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9

Article

Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, released when cattle belch, is estimated to account for around 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. High greenhouse gas emissions lead to global warming. When ruminants like cows and sheep graze, bacteria in their stomachs decompose the plant fibers, generating methane. The gas is released when the animals belch whilst chewing.

Called out to investigate a case of poisoning, the Japanese researchers noticed that the cattle which had grazed on a well fertilized pasture, produced less methane.

A research team at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine in Hokkaido, Japan, accidentally discovered a way to minimise greenhouse gas. The team was lead by professor Junichi Takahashi.

FERTILIZER a s s i s t s w i t h

belching problem

Investigating further, they found that adding the amino acid cysteine into the cattle’s diet reduced methane production even more and prevented the nitrates supplied by the mineral fertilizer from becoming toxic.

Milk quality was not affected by nitrate. Patents have been obtained for the technique in, among others, Japan, the United States and Australia.

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Research

NUTRICAL 19™ on Golden Delicious apples

Check this out! Y i e l d i n c r e a s e s w i t h

Omnia’s Research and Development division in the Western Cape conducted apple trials during the 2005/2006 seasons in the Villiersdorp and Grabouw areas. The purpose of the trials was to evaluate the effect of NUTRICAL 19™ on the quality of apples.

The research team got excellent production increases as well as a positive effect on fruit quality.

NUTRICAL 19™ was applied twice at 6l/ha. The first application occurred one week after fruit set (beginning of November) and the second two weeks later (mid-November).

An average yield increase of 11.9 tonnes per hectare was achieved during the 2005 season and 9.3 t/ha in the 2006 season. This resulted in 955 extra cartons in the 2005 season and 748 extra cartons in 2006. The result increased income by R22 920 per hectare (2005) and R17 952 per hectare (2006) if a standard carton of 12.5 kg is used at an average farmgate income of R24 per carton.

By Marinda Kellerman, Omnia Research & Development

Only 15 cartons per hectare extra were needed to cover product costs for both applications.

An increase in fruit weight and size was achieved and more apples fell in the “Optimum” class, indicating that the quality of the apples had improved.

Microscopic analysis of the fruit revealed statistically significant increases in cell lengths.

These findings were presented at the 2008 Combined Congress at Grahamstown.

Farm Name

Effect of NUTRICAL 19™ on apple productionin the 2006 season

Success Story

11

Zimbabwe’s Mazoe Citrus Estates, 50 km north of Harare, started with an OmniPrecise™ demonstration block in June 2006, adopting all recommendations. Mazoe Citrus, one of the largest citrus estates in Zimbabwe at 600 hectares, allocated a block of 8.3 hectares to Omnia Zimbabwe to carry out a full OmniPrecise™, foliar and nutritional programme in order to assess the viability of further precision farming the “Omnia way”.

After the maps were generated by OmniPrecise™ in South Africa, the 8.3 hectare block was split up into four separate areas with two varieties in each block. The plan was to compare existing practices in both varieties with precision farming.

The low levels of phosphate and potassium percen-tages were identified as limiting crop production (see maps below). Omnia chose the worst areas from the maps and worked out recommendations accordingly. This area was on the western half of the block.

By Malcolm Jones, ZimbabweAgent: E. Mutseta

S u c c e s s e s i n Citrus

A full soil correctional plus nutritional programme (including foliar sprays) was worked out and given to Mazoe Citrus to implement. The results were as follows:

Table 1: Block yields

Block Treated Control Difference % Difference

Tonnes (4 ha)

U11 Navels 128.1 111 17.1 15.41

U12 Deltas 15.58 6.9 8.68 128.8

Table 2: Financial overview

Block Yield diffe-rence/ha(tonnes)

Increa-sed reve-nue/ha

(R)

Increased revenue less fertilizer cost/ha

(R)

U11 Navels 8.55 28,500 19,900.00

U12 Deltas 4.34 14,375 5,775.00

Looking at the figures in Table 2, even in a poor Delta year, the benefits of an OmniPrecise™ and Nutriology® programme far outweigh the full costs of the programme.

Armed with these results which have just been released, Omnia will be negotiating with Mazoe Citrus Estates to substantially increase the area under Omnia Nutriology®, with an eye to eventually servicing the whole estate.

OMNIPRECISE™

U11; 06 (8.26 ha.) - Megasurface - P(Bray1) (mg/kg) U11; 06 (8.26 ha.) - Megasurface - K%

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Profile

T H E E X P E R T S

A g r o n o m i s t sHighveld

ST Potgieter 083 414 4595Brits, Koedoeskop, Thabazimbi

Chris Burbidge 083 702 0760Groblersdal, Marble Hall

David Fouche 082 923 0438Witbank, East Rand, Delmas, Bethal

Gerrit de Jager 082 388 2176Ermelo, Piet Retief, Middelburg

Jan Schoonraad 083 441 2508Standerton, Volksrust

Johan Engelbrecht 082 573 3877Bethal, Delmas

Pieter de Jager 082 456 4563Bronkhorstspruit, Balfour, Grootvlei, Johannesburg

Wilhelm de Koker 082 567 1977Naboomspruit, Sterk River

Cape

Marius van der Westhuizen 083 454 5643George

Marinus de Beer 083 655 0129Hexrivier, Grabouw, Robertson

Attie Haasbroek 083 557 5321Sandveld & SwartlandJan van Zyl 083 283 8311Vredendal & CitrusdalPietman Wessels 072 582 0019Ceres

Lowveld

André Smit 082 893 2785North Transvaal

Hentie Cilliers 082 904 2429Kaapmuiden – Komati

Hantie Reed 082 468 3975Nelspruit

North West

Oatley Coetzer 084 626 8930Upington

Jannie Peyper 083 288 7131Parys, Koppies, Klerksdorp, Potch., Ventersdorp

Kobus van Zyl 083 633 9540Viljoenskroon, Bothaville

Phillip Venter 082 496 1144NWK

Anton Schulenburg 083 262 3628NWK

Stefan de Jager 082 376 8915Wolmaransstad, Schweizer, Delareyville

MeetA highly skilled team of trained professionals have taken over the OmniPrecise™ department at Omnia.

Uys Lourens holds a doctorate in agro-

meteorology and was involved in the

pioneering of OmniPrecise™. Uys joins

Omnia again after an absence of a few years.

Hennie Langenhoven holds an agronomy

degree and was working in the Free State before joining the

OmniPrecise™ team.

Mia Pope holds a MA degree in geographic

information systems and worked at Geo Pollution Technologies until she

joined Omnia.

Chris Keen holds an MSc degree in

agriculture, specialising in agroforestry and

biophysics. He is involved in crop growth

modelling for production risk assessment.

Bates Booyens leads the soil classification team with a wealth of

knowledge gained from working at the Dept. of Agriculture and NWK,

among others.

Tiaan Terblanche has a B.Sc. Agric degree in agronomy and econo-

mics. He will be involved in soil classification.

Johan Campher (left) and JC Bezuidenhout (right) both hold B.Sc. Agric degrees in soil and irrigation science.

They will both be involved in soil classification.

13

Profile

A g r o n o m i s t sEast Coast

Kevern Macaskill 082 887 2653Eston, Richmond, North Coast

Peter King 083 679 4066Eastern Cape

Brian Hesom 083 679 1962Northern Natal / Midlands

Rollo Woodhead 083 679 1953East Griqualand

MC Veldsman 082 771 5495Humansdorp

William Gibson 082 856 2581North Coast, Richmond, Specialities

Free State

Johan Bredenkamp 082 304 6867Hoopstad, Wesselsbron, Hennenman

John Craven 083 626 1783Bethlehem, Reitz, Warden

Lafras Fouche 083 235 6556Bethlehem, Heilbron, Frankfort, Vrede

Piet de Wet 082 788 5342Clocolan, Bloemfontein, Ladybrand

Stefan Vrey 082 610 4184Christiana, Hopetown, Douglas

Australia

Troy Morgan (Queensland N.) +61 429897074

Bob Wilson (Bundaberg) +61 419554207

Bruce de Gersigny (Brisbane) +61 400887876

Dr. Sammy Heng (Melbourne) +61 448064860

Jan de Jager (Perth) +61 429898131

Janus Erasmus (Melbourne) +61 448064860

Malawi

Ken McKenzie +265 1710287

Zambia

Bertie Serfontein +26 097770590

Kobus Smith +26 096764351

Vincent Mkuyamba +26 097999697

Gerhard Eloff (South) +26 097770589

Gawie Peens (North & Central) +26 097999226

Zimbabwe

Mark Tindle +263 4369393

Research & Development

Teferi Yeshitela (North & Central) 072 584 8783

Charles Wright (North & Central) 082 782 1379

Tanya Singh (Greenhouse) 011 709 8930

Marinda Kellerman (Western Cape) 082 899 7780

Hydroponics

Sonja Botha 011 7098919

T H E E X P E R T SMeetOmnia has announced the following appointments:

Marsel Slabbert obtained his B. Agric.

degree at the University of the Free State. He was appointed as a

representative in the Lowveld region.

Attie Haasbroek holds an agronomy degree

and lots of experience gained from working at the ARC and Cape Agri.

He will be working as an agronomist in the

Western Cape.

Jan van Zyl obtained a MSc Agric degree at the University of

Stellenbosch. He will be working as an

agronomist in Vredendal in the Western Cape.

Pietman Wessels holds an M.Sc. degree from the University of

Stellenbosch. He worked for Colours Fruit before

joining Omnia as agrono-mist in the Ceres region.

Marinus de Beer has a B.Sc. Honours degree in soil science. He has been

working in the Cape farming sector for five years and has been appointed as

an agronomist in the Western Cape.

Johan Fourie was appointed as a technical advisor in Upington. He has a BSc specializing in forestry and worked

as a marketing manager for the Dept. of Water

Affairs.

“Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”

Ralph Waldo Emerson1803-1882

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Research

FUNGIMAX™ is a source of naturally occurring organic compounds rich in carbon required for the growth of beneficial fungi. It has been formulated to promote the development of fungal colonies in the soil and retain the biological diversity in the soil. These fungi explore the soil environment and release nutrients (especially phosphates) to the plant. They grow mainly around and between the roots and establish a network supplying nutrients to the plant in return for sugars.

FUNGIMAX™ was applied to citrus (Delta Valencia and Star Ruby) at a rate of 5l/ha from October to January on farms in the Groblersdal and Hectorspruit areas in 2005/2006 as well as 2006/2007 seasons. The aim of the trial was to increase the fungal populations in the soil as well as the yield. A total of 26 strips were treated. The trial was laid out and analysed according to statistical principles.

Statistically significant results were obtained for the following parameters:

Treated citrus trees Control

PAYS OFF! Looking after the little guys

Figure 1. Differences (%) between fungal counts of the treated strips compared to their controls in 2005/ 2006 season.

Average Fungal population increase of 38%

By Dr. Teferi Yeshitela, Omnia Research & Development

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Research

In the 2007 harvesting season, yields were increased on average by 6 tonnes per hectare (10%).

The diameter of the fruit increased by 1 mm (2%). This yield increase was achieved without sacrificing fruit quality.

The increase realised an additional revenue of R16,500 per hectare (R2.75 per kg). At TSB Whiskey and Hectorspruit, which achieved yield increases of 14 and 10 tonnes per hectare, the additional revenue created amounted to R38,500 per hectare and R27,500 per hectare, respectively.

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Success Story

At the beginning of December 2005, OmniPrecise™

was introduced to Hippo Valley Sugarcane Estate in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe.

The fields chosen to carry out the precision farming demonstrations were plant cane fields on opposite sides of the estate, with very different soil types, namely a sandy soil and a basalt clay.

Results showed various nutrient deficiencies; in particular very low calcium percentages in the soil. Based on the maps generated by the OmniPrecise™ field unit, the fields were pegged and a range of applications of Calcitic lime were applied to the two fields.

To demonstrate the efficacy of the corrective measures alone, the standard estate fertilizer programme was maintained.

Figure 1 shows the comparison of yields per year since 1998. This was a fourth ratoon year and 2002 was a plant cane year. Soil type in this field is sandy with a ECEC of an average of 10 cmolc per kg. About 60% of the field had a calcium percentage of less than 60%.

Figure 2 shows the comparison of yields per year since 1998, which was a fourth ratoon

year. Soil type in this field is heavy basalt clay with an ECEC of an average of 45 cmolc per kg. About 65% of the field has a calcium

percentage lower than 60%.

By Malcolm Jones

uccessSS

Figure 2 – Yield for basalt clay

Figure 1 – Yield for sandy soil

with precision farming

in Zimbabwe sugarcane

17

Success Story

Table 1

The full nutrient corrective programme plus full Omnia Nutriology® programme (including foliar applications) in the sugarcane, cost US$ 1,032.48 per hectare. This means the increase in revenue alone from the corrective measures taken in the year 2007, more than paid for the full nutritional programme for 2008.

Based on these results, Omnia Zimbabwe is currently in discussion with the new Triangle Corporation which includes both Hippo Valley Estates and Triangle, totalling ± 30,000 hectares of cane. The current economic conditions are a damper on our discussions, but we will persist.

Sandy soil Yield (t/ha) Total raw cane

Recoverable Crystal (%)

Total Recoverable Crystal

Price/mtUS$

Total value/haUS$

10-year best 133.42 10.85 14.48 224.00 3,242.64

OmniPrecise™ 2007 165.57 10.85 17.96 224.00 4,024.01

Revenue Increase (US$)Percentage Increase

781.3724.1%

Basalt clay Yield (t/ha) Total raw cane

Recoverable Crystal (%)

Total Recoverable Crystal

Prys/mtUS$

Total value/haUS$

10-year best 102.48 12.27 12.57 224.00 2,816.64

OmniPrecise™ 2007 154.93 12.27 19.01 224.00 4,258.22

Revenue Increase (US$)Percentage Increase

1,441.5851.2%

18

Article

Profitable wheat production with NUTRIOLOGY®

By Jan Wolmarans

Profit in crop production is a function of both cost and income. Producers often only focus on reducing input costs and don’t realise the golden opportunities that lie with increasing income through Omnia Nutriology®.

Yield increases can be brought about through the implementation of:

With fluctuating grain prices, it is inevitable that alternative methods of grain production must be investigated to ensure sustainability. Omnia Nutriology® has the knowledge and technology to make this possible.

2. Cultivation practices

The benefits of conservation tillage are: Better water infiltration with less run-off and, conse-quently, more water in the soil; less compaction as well as improvement of soil structure which improves soil aeration. Therefore the kilogram grain per millimetre water produced is increased. To achieve success with conservation tillage, it may be necessary to call in the help of experts. This knowledge is available in the Nutriology® concept.

3. Management of plant stress (OmniSap®)

Plant stress damages several processes in the plant. If stress is identified early, the crop can be assisted to handle the situation more effectively. Thus yield and quality losses can be minimised. OmniSap® is a handy resource to quickly track down nutritional stress and so manage crop growth.

1. Precision Farming (OmniPrecise™)

OmniPrecise™ enables the producer to allocate expenses to the right areas on his farm and to make better crop choices. Therefore he can increase the kilograms grain per millimetre water produced by as much as 115%. The implementation of true precision farming (OmniPrecise™) can influence the farmer’s profitability.

19

Success Story

BUFFALO COUNT N U T R I O L O G Y ® I N C R E A S E S

New farmer experiment

One of our clients in the Free State wanted to expand his buffalo business. Buying more property has its own set of problems, as the whole farm would then have to be electrically fenced in at an enormous cost to the farmer. And, as we all know, property is not cheap.

The solution: Expand vertically! With the help of Omnia Nutriology®, the client was able to improve the pastures, enabling him to considerably increase his carrying capacity.

Who would have thought fertilizer can be used for game farming?

By Thinus LouwAgent: PW Pelser

Photo courtesy of Charles Wright

20

CONGRESS 2008

Industry news

Production;

Society;

Horticultural Science.

Three of Omnia’s employees presented papers at the congress: Dr. Teferi Yeshitela, Marinda Kellerman and David Fouche. (Please see page 10 for more on Marinda’s research.)

David Fouche presented a paper on the threshold values for potassium (K) and maize producing sandy soils of South Africa. With this research, David determined the lower and upper threshold values for soil K.

Results of field experiments during four consecutive seasons indicated a lower threshold value of 125 mg/kg K and an upper threshold value of 190 mg/kg K. Below 125 mg/kg K maize is expected to respond and above 190 mg/kg K not to respond to additional K.

The extractable K from approximately 25,000 sandy soil samples received from maize farmers indicated that approximately 50% of these samples contained less K than the lower threshold value. Approximately 30% was between the lower and upper values. It is expected that these maize fields will gradually become depleted and more K will be required to maintain or improve yields.

Rhodes University main building – where the combined congress was held

One of the conference rooms where papers were presented

Foto courtesy of Charles Wright

Combined

The Combined Congress 2008 was held in Grahamstown from 21 to 24 January 2008. This congress is hosted by four societies, namely:

The congress was attended by 339 delegates, mainly from universities, fertilizer, chemical and seed companies, and the ARC.

21

Industry news

Dr. Teferi Yeshitela’s paper focused on the evaluation of two seed coatings on the germination of maize. Omnia Fertilizer has developed two seed coatings and his trial investigated the benefit and possible phytotoxic effects on maize germination and establishment.

Trials in the greenhouse showed that treated plants had a higher germination percentage compared to the control, though by day 14 there was no longer a statistical difference. Measurements of plant length at 14 days show a marked difference with the treated plants being double the height of the control. No differences were observed between the application rates or between the two formulas.

The seed coatings were not phytotoxic at the rates tested. Germination and early vegetative development were enhanced indicating that these products will assist farmers to manage the risk of not establishing a uniform stand.

At the congress, Omnia’s Dr. Johan van Biljon received an honorary membership from the South African Society of Crop Production for his valuable contribution to the Society and to South African agriculture in general.

Dr. Van Biljon is, as far as is known, the youngest person ever to receive this award. Johan was a member of the SASCP board for nine years in different positions. Under his guidance the Society improved relations with the business world, benefiting the financial position of the Society tremendously.

An Omnia Nutriology® Student Merit Award is given to the student who delivers the best paper at the congress. T.J. Tsilo won this award with his paper on wheat stem rust (University of Minnesota). The runner up was P.J.R. Cronje with a paper on citrus fertilization (University of Stellenbosch).

Dr. Johan van Biljon receives an honorary membership from Prof. Albert Modi, President of the SASCP

From left to right: Dr. Johan van Biljon, T.J. Tsilo, P.J.R. Cronje and Prof. Albert Modi.

Pictures from the presentation by Dr. Teferi Yeshitela. On the left is the control and on the right is a treated pot, both taken five days after planting.

22

Success Story

1 t/ha yield increase!

success in the NUTRIOLOGY®

E a s t e r n F r e e S t a t eBy John Craven, Omnia Free State (Tel: 083 626 1783)

With the exception of the 2007/2008 wheat season, the last few seasons were quite tough. Yields were low and farmers were considering planting less wheat.

Clarens in the Eastern Free State, usually a good wheat production area, also suffered under low yields. One of the fertilizer practices is to spread urea and use 6.2.1(31) Zn as a planter mix, applying 50 kg nitrogen per hectare in total.

Applying the Nutriology® concept, this practice was changed by applying a combination of N-Gas™ and 2.2.1(25) + Zn liquid fertilizer. The total nitrogen was therefore increased to 60 kg nitrogen per hectare. In the first year (2006/2007), yields increased from 3.5 to 3.9 t/ha.

During the 2007/2008 wheat season, sub-soil samples were taken and the necessary corrections made using lime and gypsum. Instead of applying N-Gas™ at one soil depth, two different soil depths were targeted. This resulted in better distribution of nitrogen through the soil profile and caused increased root development and better yields. Total nitrogen was also decreased to 55 kg nitrogen per hectare.

The average yields achieved for the 2007/ 2008 season was 4.5 t/ha.

Application of N-Gas™

Determining of depth and distribution of soil N after application

Results of Nutriology®

Boe

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23

Book Review

Biological Control of Crop Diseases

Editor: Samuel S. GnanamanickamPrice: $219.95 van www.amazon.com ISBN-10 No: 0824706935Pages: 480Publisher: CRC; 1st edition

With contributions from more than 30 internationally renowned experts, this book combines coverage of theory with coverage of global practices. Highlighting the day-to-day challenges of organic crop management for cost-effective real-world application, the book explores the biological control of diseases in 12 major crops. It focuses on the use of host plant resistance through transgenic and induced systemic resistance as a part of biological control. Topics covered include the role of biocontrol

agents for signalling resistance, effective ecofriendly alternatives to combat bacterial, fungal and viral infestation and transgenic crops in disease management. Most chapters contain informative tables and/or figures. This book is an interesting and useful reference guide.

The Farming Handbook

Author: Barry SmithPrice: R208.25 van www.kalahari.net ISBN No.: 9781869140908Pages: 432Publisher: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press (Tel. No. (033) 260 5226 for local and +27 (33) 260 5226 for international enquiries).

An unique and comprehensive book that deals with a wide range of agricultural subjects and enterprises in one easy-to-use volume. Although the focus is mainly on South African conditions, the agricultural principles and practices can be applied easily elsewhere. Throughout his career, Barry Smith has formulated and collected thumb rules, working on the premise that it is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong. There are 150 of these thumb rules presented here, which can save time and effort and are easy to remember and apply. It’s an essential guide to natural resources (climate, vegetation, soil and water) and useful information on veld management, land assessment, agricultural engineering (soil erosion, land preparation and building) and irrigation.

Barry Smith’s extensive knowledge and experience are revealed in the practical resources given for livestock production (beef, dairy, pigs, sheep, goats, poultry and wildlife), pastures, field crops, orchard crops, vegetables and timber. He was given the Top Management award by the Department of Agriculture for producing 28 prediction yield models for field crops, pasture, orchards, vegetables and timber trees. These models are included in “The Farming Handbook” and will prove indispensable for farmers, students and agricultural advisors.

24

On a lighter note

on a lighterNoteFarmer’s Lament

It all started back in 1960 when they changed from Pounds to Rands – and my overdraft doubled.

I was just getting used to that when they brought in kilograms for pounds and the weight of my wool bales dropped by half.

Then they changed the rain to millimeters and we have not had an inch since.

So what do they do? Bring in a thing called Celsius and the temperature drops by 20 degrees. No wonder my pineapples won’t grow!

As if this were not enough, they change us over from acres to hectares and I end up with half the land I had.

So I decided to sell. I’d just put the place on the market when they changed from miles to kilometers – and now I’m too far out of town for anyone to buy the place!

That’s progress.

Technology

Van der Merwe locked his car keys inside his car by accident.

It took him a whole five hours to get his family out of the car!

Hound dog

A hound dog was laying in the yard where an old man in overalls was sitting on the porch.

''Excuse me, sir, but does your dog bite?'' a tourist asked. The old man looked up over his newspaper and replied, ''Nope.''

As soon as the tourist stepped out of his car, the dog began snarling and growling, and then attacked. As the tourist flailed around in the dust, he yelled, ''I thought you said your dog didn't bite!''

The old man muttered, ''Ain't my dog.''

Be the boss

A henpecked husband was advised by a psychiatrist to assert himself. “You don’t have to let your wife bully you,” she said. “Go home and show her you’re the boss.”

The husband decided to take the psychiatrist’s advice.

He went home, slammed the door, shook his fist in his wife’s face, and growled, “From now on you’re taking orders from me. I want my supper right now. When it’s on the table, go upstairs and lay out my clothes. Tonight I am going out with the boys. You are going to stay at home where you belong. Another thing, guess who’s going to tie my necktie?”

“I know exactly who that will be,” said his wife calmly, “the undertaker.”