Baseline information on agricultural practices in the EU ... - Europabio

Table 10: Mineral content (in kg/ha/tonne) in grain maize (Source: Maiskomitee)
Nutrient Grain maize at 86% dry weight
Grain Straw
N 12-16 5-9
P2O5 6-11 5-7
K2O 4-6 15-25
MgO 2-3 2-4
CaO 2-3 5-7
Nitrogen is generally the most limiting nutrient for maize and is the most frequent applied fertiliser,
sometimes fractionated (before sowing and later in the growing season).
Phosphorous uptake may be problematic early in the season due to cold weather. Phosphorous is
applied in the row to facilitate uptake. With farmyard manure to satisfy the nitrogen requirement soils
often do not need a phosphorous fertilizer. Potassium is applied as a whole at soil cultivation. Maize is
not sensitive to micronutrient deficiencies.
Farmers usually base their calculations for the optimum fertilisation on soil analyses from samples
taken in winter and during the crop season. Several <strong>information</strong> services provide models and advice
to calculate the right dose of fertilisers to apply in the field as this may differ from one field to another.
Examples are: Kennisakker (the Netherlands); Bodemkundige Dienst van België (Belgium); Arvalis
(France); and at the Landwirtschaftskammern 16 (Germany). UK farmers may use the PLANET 3
software to generate recommendations and the ‘Tried & Tested nutrient management plan’ together
with the guidelines issued by DEFRA 17 .
Table 11 gives some examples of amounts of applied fertilisers as found in several publications and
on internet sites. These figures only give a rough idea at the best. Each individual field will require a
tailor-made fertilisation taking into account several factors.
Table 11: Maize soil preparation in relation to tillage (options, complemented with relative importance
% of cultivated maize area), examples for fertiliser (N: nitrogen, P: phosphorus, K:
potassium) and soil application of insecticides, possibly specified per region (E: east part of
the country, N: north, NE: northeast, SW: southwest, W: west) (Sources: a average figures,
from Agreste; b Endure; c Finke et al., 1999; d ILVO; e Maïshandboek, figures for P2O5 will
go down in the coming years (55-85 for 2013); f Baden-Württemberg ‘Umweltgerechte
Landbewirtschaftung‘; g h
Baden-Württemberg ‚Silomais Sortenversuche‘; Bayern,
Sortenversuch Silomais; i IRTA/AGPME for Catalonia; j Ministry of Agriculture (MADR); k
Recommended in Micskei et al., 2010; l Anpromis website; m EuropaBio member
companies)
Zone Member State Use Tillage
A
North
Denmark Not specified 10% no
ploughing
Fertiliser
(kg/ha)
150 N 0%
Estonia - - -
Finland - - -
Latvia - - -
Insecticides
(% applied of
the cultivated
area)
16 E.g. Nordrhein-Westfalen: http://www.nmin.de/nminnrw/
17 http://www.planet4farmers.co.uk/
http://www.nutrientmanagement.org/
http://archive.defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/water/waterquality/diffuse/nitrate/help-for-farmers.htm
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