The Argentine corn production could grow a 34% just by improving the doses of fertilizationaccording to data released this Monday Fertilize AC during a press breakfast.
María Fernanda González Sanjuan, Executive Director of the Association, was the one who presented this information, focusing on a chronic deficit that crops have in Argentinabut mainly corn: the performance gaps; that is, what it yields per hectare in relation to what it could achieve under ideal conditions.
According to the Fertilizar study, the average corn yield in the country is currently 7,600 kilos per hectare, almost half of what it could reach as a ceiling: 14,400 kilos.
However, for González Sanjuan, it is more realistic to think about reducing 80% of that gap; that is, reaching an average of 11,150 kilos, which is 3,900 kilos more than at present.
THE CORN DIET, IN DEBATE
How can we reach this figure? In an ideal situation, the amount of nitrogen applied should be reduced from 70 kilos per hectare to 140; phosphorus from 14 to 36; and sulfur from 3 to 16.
In this framework, “being conservative, To reach 11,500 kilos, which is 34% more yield, the nitrogen dose would have to be increased by 50%, the phosphorus dose by 61% and the sulfur dose by 81%. With better nutritional management alone, we can add almost 4,000 kilos per hectare,” González Sanjuan explained.
The big question for producers, given this calculation, is: How much does it cost to fertilize at this time and if it is profitable?.
For the executive of Fertilizar, you have to watch the whole movie and not just a photo that invites erroneous conclusions.
Nutrient deficiency: “Phosphorus, sulfur and zinc levels are falling at a worrying rate”
He said this punctually because if one only looks at the price ratio, Historically, it took 5.1 kilos of corn to buy a kilo of phosphorus, and now it is 6 kilos. In urea, the historical average is 4.5 and currently it is 4.3.
That is to say, that The input-output relationship does not show a super favorable scenariotaking into account mainly a corn that barely reaches US$ 140 per ton at this moment.
However, González Sanjuan recalled that it is estimated that Each kilo of nitrogen applied produces between 15 and 25 kilos of grain in corn. For phosphorus, the ratio is between 25 and 65 kilos of grain for each kilo applied; and for sulfur, 45 to 95 kilos for each kilo.
THE PROFITABILITY OF FERTILIZING
The Maizar representative showed a study carried out on a field where a control was planted without fertilization that yielded 6,380 kilos per hectare, and was compared with a plot that was fertilized in a “normal” way and reached 7,550 kilos, while in one with the doses adjusted as mentioned above, it climbed to 9,650 kilos.
The producer’s “expense” would be 7 kilos of corn for nitrogen, 22 for phosphorus and another 7 for sulfur.which would leave me with a minimum gain of 18 kilos thanks to increased nitrogen nutrition, 3 for phosphorus and at least 38 for sulfur.
In terms of money, the calculation that Fertilizar presented It implies an “extra” investment of US$ 207 per hectareto incorporate 433 more kilos of fertilizer, but 2,100 more kilos are harvested, which at US$ 140 per ton means US$ 288In other words, they earn US$81 per hectare.
“For every additional $100 invested in fertilizer, I get almost $40 back.in just 6 months,” González Sanjuan summarized.
And while he focused on the fact that these are theoretical calculations and that each producer must evaluate their situation, he stressed: “We must look hard for a fertilization where the numbers do not add up”.
Therefore, his final conclusion is that It is a mistake to always wait for “the context” to improve: for example, that taxes be lowered.
“There is a lot of impact to be generated if we focus on the agronomic decisions we must makeput our energy where it pays off the most. Focus on doing more agronomy,” he concluded.
