Just to save, the producer does not have to stop fertilizing – Nacionales

“The agricultural producer is thinking about how to recover some of what he lost due to the drought, or how to continue generating some economic income, be it by planting corn or soybeans at this time, or with wheat, canola or chia in the fall. winter, but what you should not do is forget to take care of your soil”, he stressed.

He added that this situation is of great concern because the 2022/2023 campaign is approaching and if coverage or service fertilizers are left aside, the soil will not be in good condition to endure, if there is a drought again. “We know that a covered floor retains moisture and a bare floor represents loss, that worries us,” said Cubilla.

What should the producer do at this time?

“It is time to perform soil analysis for decision making. Do not neglect direct sowing, nor the fertilization of the fields, more than ever we have to prepare ourselves. This phenomenon occurs every 10 years, so it is time to start using green manure for situations like these. In particular, we tell producers that they should not lose focus on production and that at least 30 percent should incorporate green manures as a cover crop, despite the fact that wheat also helps because 2022/2023 soybeans are going to see very benefited, thinking about what is coming”.

Fertilize: yes or no

“We know that the costs of inputs have increased, therefore the producer must be very efficient in everything, but not because he wants to save he must stop taking care of his soil, which is what he manufactures to produce food. Let’s take an example: if the farmer has very fertile areas, which give him an average of 4,000 kilos of soybeans per hectare each year, and in another zone of the same area he throws 2,000 kilos of soybeans per hectare every year, he cannot luxury of not fertilizing. What you can do is a minimum or maintenance fertilization –if you have good fertility levels–, you can even make a starter fertilizer and save as long as you know how much the soil has, that is why the analysis is important. The price of sampling or analysis is negligible compared to what the fertilizers cost”, explained the president of the Paraguayan Federation of Direct Sowing (Fepasidias).

excessive extraction

Would growing one income crop after another (soy/corn/wheat/sunflower) be extracting more than what is given to the soil? There are numbers that tell how much each crop extracts. Soybean, for example, extracts 12.5 to 15 kg of phosphorus per ton, extracts 20 to 25 kg/ton of potassium and between 70 to 80 kg of nitrogen, in addition to micronutrients.

Extraction without sampling or fertility follow-up is like when doctors ask for a complete blood count and a blood test has to be done to see our indices, and from there one follows the treatment that is necessary. “It’s the same with the soil, we must do the analysis, monitor it, meet its requirements, if it is extracted and not returned, be it macro or micronutrients, the crop will always be affected,” said Cubilla.

With and without coverage

The professional was asked about the results he saw in this campaign where the drought hit the field. “We have been working with producers for years and sharing knowledge about the importance of having a covered soil and direct seeding with quality. A soil without cover or without the use of green manure yielded about 500 to 600 kilos/ha of soybeans during the drought, and the national average is around 900 to 1,000 kg/ha. Already in cases with excellent soil management, with more than 30 years of the system and 65 days without water, it has been possible to exceed 1,500 kg/ha. In a particular case, in rice fields in San Juan Bautista, there were yields higher than 1,800 kg/ha of soybeans, with 3 years of SSD, permanent coverage, and with good fertilization, where it did not rain for 40 days”, he referred.