2024 IFS webinar series
A programme of webinars covering a variety of topics relating to fertiliser production and crop nutrition
During 2024 the IFS continued to organise webinars for those involved and interested in the production and application of fertilising products. .
Society Members were able to attend all these webinars without charge, as well as having free access to the presentation charts, a recording of the webinar, and a pdf copy of the written paper, where applicable. For UK attendees, each webinar was worth BASIS FACTS CPD points.
Detailed information on the webinars that comprised this programme is shown below.
Practical application of fusing spectroscopic techniques in routine soil analysis: Lab-in-a-Box (LiaB) concept
Matteo Poggia, agrocares Netherlands
The science underpinning the ICLeaf crop leaf scanning technology
Prof. Uri Yermiyahu, Volcani Institute, Israel
Operational experiences with the ICLeaf crop leaf scanning technology
Sanjay Namdev Biradar, ICL Fertilisers India
Wednesday 10 April 2024
‘Accuracy’ and the avoidance of mistakes
Greg Fradd, The Accuracy People, UK
The contribution of Human Factors to safety improvement
Chris Marron, Yara International, UK
Wednesday 4 September 2024
Should we grow nitrogen on trees? Potential to improve nitrogen use efficiency by use of perennial mobile green manures
Clo Ward, Ecodyfi, UK
Effects of manure and mineral fertiliser nitrogen supply on crop nitrogen utilisation and nitrate leaching on cut grassland
Wim van Dijk, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands
Wednesday 30 October 2024
Reaching production and environmental goals through soil specific potassium fertiliser advice for grassland
Thomas McCarthy, Teagasc / SETU Waterford, Ireland
This research investigated the optimisation of K fertilisation to grassland, categorising Irish soils using their inherent characteristics that influence K dynamics and to develop soil specific K fertiliser advice to promote increased sustainability on farms. The research developed a system of soil categorisation criteria that will lead to the development of more soil specific advice to optimise fertiliser K use.
Root iron plaque as a dynamic pool of phosphorus in rice grown under different water management
Sara Martinengo, University of Turin, Italy
Sara investigated iron (Fe) plaque mineral composition and the uptake of P in rice. The issue is that oxygen released by rice roots, grown in submerged paddy soils, causes the precipitation of iron (Fe) on the root surface. The Fe plaque that forms can adsorb phosphorus (P) from the solution, potentially decreasing the plant P availability. Her research results will help farmers to calibrate their P fertilisation based on their irrigation practices, mitigating the impact of P on water quality and saving unnecessary expenses in terms of money, resources and energy.
Tailored cover crop mixtures for improved soil P exploration and subsequent crop nutrition
Henrique Rasera Raniro, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
This research investigated the P-related effects of cover crops on the soil and subsequent crops. Henrique’s key finding was that, by combining synergistic species with efficient P acquisition traits, cover crops may be able to explore less available P pools, which are not normally available to cash crops. Being reintroduced into the soil, a plant’s biomass gradually mineralizes, releasing bioavailable P and indirectly giving subsequent crops access to the legacy P.
This webinar should be worth 1 AP and 1 PN BASIS FACTS CPD points, which have been applied for.
Practical application of fusing spectroscopic techniques in routine soil analysis: Lab-in-a-Box (LiaB) concept
Matteo Poggia, Agrocares, Netherlands
Modern spectroscopic techniques give an opportunity to analyse soil samples more time and cost effectively, while eliminating the need to use substances harmful to the operator and the environment. Above that, their simplicity of operation allows to expand the circle of users as no thorough “know-how” of analytical chemistry is needed. Most interesting is that these attributes do not have to come at the expense of accuracy. The improvements in instrument manufacturing, computing power and advanced calibration modelling algorithms have provided the tools to realize a sensor fusion concept combining mid-Infrared spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence that meets these criteria: the Lab-in-a-Box (LiaB). In this webinar, we will briefly discuss the theoretical background, demonstrate the procedure, while highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the process.
The science and operational experiences of the ICLeaf crop leaf scanning technology
Prof. Uri Yermiyahu, Volcani Institute, Israel and Sanjay Namdev Biradar, ICL Fertilisers India
Uri will discuss Reforming crops’ Mineral Diagnostics by Chemometrics
World farming requires precision fertilization to eliminate contaminations, improve crops’ productivity, and ensure sustainability. Yet, chemical mineral analyses are overly expensive and labour-intensive to substantiate large datasets of plants’ nutritional status, rendering farming to rely on discrete measurements for fertilization updates. Hence, we set to restructure nutritional diagnostics in agriculture. First, we developed a unique experimental setup to produce a wide range of mineral concentrations in multiple crops. Then, we turned to analytical tools in alternative industries, mainly NIR and X-ray fluorescence used by the mining and pharmaceutical industries for mineral analyses. Finally, we integrated an array of statical tools to adjust chemometric tools to the mineral matrices in various plant tissues. The novel chemometric projections fitted chemical analyses of macro and micro-elements’ concentrations in multiple crops (e.g., vine, tomato, almond, citrus, and avocado leaves). The error range was ±5% of laboratory analyses (corresponding to common variability between laboratory assays), and repetitions were redundant. Moreover, it is a rapid analysis, and its procurement costs are significantly lower than current laboratory practices. We recently extended our efforts to the extension and commercial sectors, supporting field laboratories in India and Israel. Now, we are set to survey numerous crops throughout all their phenological stages at various growth conditions and produce the large datasets required for modern decision-support algorithms to guide farming.
Sanjay will then describe the operational experiences of using the technology, covering:
Protocols and collection of leaf samples
Processing the samples in the lab
Generating reports
Impact on Yield,
Quality Improvement
Impact on Fertiliser application
Impact on cost saving on fertiliser application
Social Impact- sustainability.
This webinar is worth 1 PN and 1 E BASIS FACTS CPD point
‘Accuracy’ and the avoidance of mistakes
Greg Fradd, The Accuracy People, UK
This presentation will cover ‘What we mean by ‘mistakes’’ e.g. where we intend to do one thing and do something else instead. A blunder, if you will. For example: a lapse in concentration or misreading a number causing us to take a mis-step or miss a step altogether. We explain why mistakes are different to misjudgements, in which we decide on a course of action that we later regret. The costs of mistakes are reviewed, which can include some or all of:
o Financial implications
o Operational Effectiveness – time spent dealing with mistakes
o Regulatory risks
o Customer Satisfaction
o Employee Wellbeing – it’s frustrating and stressful for the person who makes the mistake
o Social and environmental cost
The presentation then explains why we make mistakes and what can be done to make fewer of them. The main reasons we make mistakes are:
o The physical structure of the human eye – we can only focus on a very small area at once, and the eye moves in a series of jerks rather than moving smoothly.
o Our reading skills get in the way – we are brilliant at making sense out of nonsense, which is a real problem when looking for mistakes.
o We are hardwired to be distractible and we work in a highly distracting world.
o We misuse our memory, and our memory can be very powerful – but it is very unreliable.
We will conclude by exploring how to adopt an ‘Accuracy Mindset’ and use specific techniques such as ‘The Advantage of Threes’ to help you to improve your attention-to-detail and reduce errors at work.
The contribution of Human Factors to safety improvement
Chris Marron, Yara International, UK
This presentation will start by describing Yara’s ‘Safe By Choice’ journey. It will then explain the development of the Human Factors Principles and categories, with its five principles. These start with an acceptance of the reality that people make mistakes, and that blame fixes nothing. Rather the key is to understand that context drives behaviour, learning is the key to improvement, and that leadership response matters. As part of this, some background information will be provided on the various types of human error. These principles will then be illustrated and demonstrated though a detailed description of a case study.
This webinar will be worth 2 BASIS FACTS CPD PD points for UK attendees.
Should we grow nitrogen on trees? Potential to improve nitrogen use efficiency by use of perennial mobile green manures
Clo Ward, Ecodyfi, UK
Supplying nitrogen (N) to soil, whether by mineral fertilisers or by organic techniques such as N-fixing green manures presents environmental challenges. Green manures provide organic matter which improves soil functioning and can result in carbon sequestration, but the practice requires cropland to be periodically taken out of production. Crop-available nitrogen can be lost from soil by leaching of nitrates or emission of nitrogen gases including the powerful greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. Precision agriculture allows nitrogen fertiliser applications to be targeted to meet crop demand, thus increasing efficiency and reducing nitrogen loss. Such targeting is difficult, however, when adding green manures which are usually incorporated into soil by tillage.
An alternative to green manures grown in rotation is the use of ‘mobile’ or ‘cut-and-carry’ green manures which are harvested from a separate area and added to cropland, so allowing more flexibility in timing amendments to meet the crop’s nutrient requirements. Mobile green manures are usually non-woody species such as clovers or vetches, but for additional environmental benefit, we propose including N-fixing and N-accumulating trees and shrubs, to produce foliage to be used as fertiliser. To test the feasibility of this technique we conducted pot and field experiments monitoring crop N uptake, biomass production and soil mineral N from fertilisation by foliage of Alnus glutinosa (alder), Gunnera tinctoria (gunnera), and Ulex europaeus (gorse), compared to the conventional green manure Trifolium pratense (red clover) and ammonium nitrate fertiliser.
Subsequently, the Perennial Green Manures project has facilitated trials by horticultural growers fertilising crops with various materials including dried and pelleted tree leaves. It is envisaged that organic fertiliser could be produced in mixed-species ‘fertiliser forests’ which could help address the environmental need for increased tree cover, while also contributing to food security. The webinar will discuss the results of the experiments and the opportunities for development of the technique.
Ward, C. R., Chadwick, D. R., & Hill, P. W. (2023). Potential to improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) by use of perennial mobile green manures. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 125(1), 43-62.
Effects of manure and mineral fertiliser nitrogen supply on crop nitrogen utilisation and nitrate leaching on cut grassland
Wim van Dijk, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the use of animal manure nitrogen (N) instead of mineral fertiliser N on grassland and its implications for nitrate leaching are a frequent topic of debate. To test the impact of fertilisation type on N utilisation by grass and nitrate leaching, a multi-year field experiment and a greenhouse experiment were carried out.
In the field experiment, various types of mineral fertiliser (calcium ammonium nitrate, urea with urease inhibitor) and manures (cattle and pig slurry, digested cattle slurry) were compared at an annual rate of 300 kg N per ha. for one, two and three consecutive years. This setup was used to determine both the N utilisation (apparent N recovery) in the year of application, as well as the legacy effect of prior fertilisation. In addition the residual soil mineral N in the autumn in the 0-60 cm layer, and the nitrate concentration in the upper groundwater were measured annually.
In addition to the field experiment, a pot experiment with grass was conducted in which mineral fertilisers and cattle manure products were compared. Besides crop N uptake, nitrous oxide emissions and nitrate leaching were measured. At the end of the pot experiment, potential denitrification rate was measured in the top soil.
In the webinar the results will be presented and discussed.
Co-authors: Rietra, R.P.J.J. and Ros, M.B.H.
BASIS FACTS CPD points will be applied for.