It may feel as though harvest appeared all of a sudden this year, but according to LimeX’s Glenn Carlisle, gaining extra time between now and autumn drilling is no bad thing.
In fact, it’s the ideal opportunity to take stock of soils, sample each field and prepare for the following crop, he suggests. “There’s the old adage of ‘if you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it’. So while in a conventional season there are often workflow and time management issues at this time of year, an early harvest can ease that crunch somewhat,” says Glenn.
Soil sampling
For those looking for assistance with this, British Sugar offers a professional soil sampling service to all farmers across East Anglia and the East Midlands, he notes. This covers sample collection, soil testing (from pH to in-depth nutrients), and the production of pH maps including VRA with liming recommendations from FACTS qualified advisors.
With that in mind, he adds that now is a prime time to consider applying lime, specifically LimeX. “Because LimeX is created using a chemical process, it has a very small particle size which means it’s fast acting once it’s spread onto a field, starting to correct pH in just 4-6 weeks. No other agricultural liming products are as fine in particle or fast in action.
“Correcting pH can be something that’s unintentially overlooked during more protracted seasons, yet it’s critical in enabling the uptake of nutrients, maximising yields and enhancing overall soil health.”
Nutrient use efficiency
Glenn believes with high fertiliser prices due to continued geopolitical unrest, optimising the uptake of all nutrients will be a key focus for growers this year. “We know pH has a huge impact on nutrient availability and uptake by the crop, particularly affecting phosphate, nitrogen and potassium in acidic soils.
“Equally, because of its origins in the sugar filtration process, LimeX has nutrient value beyond its liming credentials. Each tonne of product contains 9kg of phosphate, 7kg of magnesium and 6kg of sulphur,” he highlights.
“These ‘free’ added nutrients are another benefit for the grower that’s a consequence of LimeX’s unique manufacturing process.”
Nationwide service
LimeX is manufactured at British Sugar’s four factories, Newark, Wissington, Bury St Edmunds and Cantley, before being distributed across the country. Glenn stresses that LimeX can be used on any crop which has a pH requirement.
“We want to move away only being associated with sugar beet; LimeX can be applied to cereals, oilseed rape, potatoes, vegetables and grassland,” he concludes.
