Environmental and economic pressures have dramatically altered our perception of pasture and how nutritionally it should be best utilised.
Plants obtain the essential nutrients they require from the soil. In fertile healthy soils, these nutrients are available in sufficient amounts. However, as the soil electrical conductivity improves so too the physical nature of the soil, allowing the root zone the capacity to mineralize nutrients more efficiently. As an example in dairy pasture, it would be necessary to apply a mineralised humate form of nutrient in early spring to optimise rising soil temperatures and in autumn to top up residuals taken from the plant during the optimum growing period.
The use of mineral humates in pastures have many beneficial effects including the production of enzymes and antibiotics and are important in the conversion of organic matter to humic acids which greatly improve the availability of soil mineral elements and plant uptake.
SUGGESTED PASTURE RATES OF APPLICATION FOR HUMATE FERTILISERS
NOTE : These recommended rates are reflective of a Humate fertiliser program selected from the range prescribed by the Mikhail soil testing system.
