New nitrogen stabiliser for Irish growers
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Corteva Agriscience has announced that its innovative nitrogen stabiliser, Instinct®, is now available to growers in Ireland.
Reducing losses of nitrogen to the environment improves nutrient use efficiency, and Instinct has demonstrated yield increases in maize of about 10% in the UK.
Nitrogen is kept in the root zone, reducing both greenhouse gas emissions and leaching. Stabilisers such as Instinct are quickly becoming an essential tool as the farming industry strives to maximise sustainability while remaining as productive as possible.
Liz Glynn, Corteva’s National Field Technical Manager for Ireland, said: “Instinct effectively slows down the conversion of ammonium to nitrite, keeping more ammonium in the soil for longer.
“This means the ammonium is not vulnerable to leaching from soil with rainfall, nor will it be converted to nitrous oxide in waterlogged soils.
“By enabling more nitrogen to be retained in the soil for longer, the yield potential of a crop is optimised, and the environmental footprint reduced. This process can be slowed down for 10-12 weeks.”
Instinct has demonstrated reductions in nitrogen leaching of approximately 50%, and denitrification through greenhouse gases of around 45%.
Being distributed by Terrachem, the stabiliser has huge potential in spring applications during maize establishment, and in grassland operations where large quantities of slurry are being used.
Terrachem Agent John Mulhare said he had seen the results for himself on his own farm.
“Using a nitrogen stabiliser is making best use of the farm’s inputs, which is becoming even more important when you consider the current margins in tillage,” he said.
“We’re also protecting watercourses from leaching which is a gain for the environment.
“I believe Instinct has the potential to be widely applied in Ireland with it being equally applicable to tillage and grassland operations.”
Application is flexible – Instinct can be mixed into slurry or digestate before field application, or sprayed on shortly after. It's also compatible with any fertiliser containing ammonia, such as sludge, urea, UAN and ammonium nitrate.
"The most important element of use is ensuring good soil contact, so it should be applied before cultivations or when rain is due to ensure good incorporation," adds Liz.
For dairy farms specifically, Instinct offers significant advantages, particularly for maize crops which often face nitrogen limitations due to current regulations.
"Forage maize has an NMAX limit of 150 kgs N/ha so it is often undersupplied with nitrogen," Liz adds.
"Modern varieties are typically higher yielding and therefore may have higher nitrogen requirements. If they don't get adequate nutrition, they will never reach their full yield potential."
The timing of nitrogen availability is another crucial factor that Instinct addresses for maize growers.
"Because of the way maize is grown it generally receives all of its fertiliser and nitrogen requirements at drilling," Liz said.
"However, maize actually has a large nitrogen requirement later on in its growth stages. By applying Instinct and keeping the nitrogen in its most available form for longer you're making it more available at that later time when the maize needs it the most."
The economic case for using Instinct is also compelling.
"By applying Instinct, which is a fraction of the cost of nitrogen, farmers could potentially apply less artificial nitrogen because they're getting more from what they are applying and getting increased nitrogen availability from their manure applications. By making it more available for longer, you lose less so you don't need to apply as much," explains Liz.
"You don't need to necessarily change what you put on, Instinct just makes everything work better and more economically."
As well as grassland and maize, the stabiliser can be used on cereals, oilseed rape, sugar beet and potatoes.
ENDS
Contact us
Technical enquiries
Call: +44 800 689 8899
Email: ukhotline@corteva.com
Liz Glynn, Area Manager & National Field Technical Manager
Call: 086 844 5306
Email: liz.glynn@corteva.com
Media Contact: Ben Pike
ben@evecommunications.co.uk
+44(0)1327 438617 / +44(0)7832168560