Results of research on the effectiveness of AgroMag® magnesium fertilizers on the productivity of oil crops.

Oil crop production is important for the development of the country's economy. The resulting products provide raw materials for many related segments of agro-industrial sector, and it is therefore important to obtaining high yields of quality oilseeds.

In addition, modern agronomists are able to increase the gross yield of crop production not only by increasing the area, but also by obtaining higher yields of high quality seeds per unit area through the use of optimized agro-technologies, including a competent nutrition system for new high-yielding varieties and hybrids.

Over several years of conducting research and production field experiments, Brucite+ has studied the effect of magnesium fertilizers (Table 1), derived from brucite, a naturally occurring form of magnesium hydroxide, in increasing the yield of oil crops.

Granular fertilizers were applied at the time of plowing, spring tilling or sowing. Leaf fertilizers were applied at critical phases of plant development, viz:

• for soybeans – 2 applications: at the 4th triple leaf stage and the flower-bud formation stage or the beginning of grain filling (depending on the objectives of the experiment);; 

• for sunflower – 1 application at the 4-6 leaf pair stage; 

• for rape – 2 leaf fertilizers: at the rosette stage and the stemming stage.

The results of the effectiveness of supplementing the nutrition system of oilseeds in different soil and climatic conditions with magnesium, sulfur, boron from AgroMag^® granular fertilizers and magnesium by means of leaf fertilization with AgroMag^® AktiMax suspension are presented in Tables 2-4 and Figures 1-3.

Application of fertilizers in the AgroMag^® line in different doses and combinations promoted more a balanced nutrition of soybean plants and better assimilation of basic nutrition elements from different soils and NPK – fertilizers, which led to an increase in yield of 1.7 – 8.7 kg/ha (9 – 33 %) depending on the region (Table 2).

For example, in the seeds of soybean prototypes grown in Amur region (experiment No. 1), oil content increased relative to the background NPK (nitrogen phosphorus and calcium) fertilizer application from 18.6 % to 19.7 % (for pellet application) 23.3 % (variant for leaf fertilization). Thus, soybean oil yield increased by 65 - 153 kg/ha or 18 - 42 % (Fig. 1)

Sunflower, being a crop demanding full nutrition for the formation of green mass and high-quality seeds, is no less responsive to additional fertilization with magnesium and boron (Table 3).

Sunflower seed yield increases from 190 to 600 kg/ha, i.e., an average of 350 kg/ha or (15%) were obtained in different natural and climatic zones.

The results of field experiments conducted with spring and winter rape showed that (Table 4):

• the most effective way to increase yields was the combined application of AgroMag^® granules and slurry to the NPK background level;

• addition of magnesium together with sulfur (AgroMag^® granulated grade MgO+S 49:20) to the rape nutrition.

As in the experiments with soybeans, the addition of mesoelements (magnesium, sulfur) to the rape nutrition system resulted not only to an increase in yield, but also in an improvement in seed quality.

The oil content of spring rape grown in Moscow region with the NPK mineral background level was 42.8 %. Additional unilateral fertilization with magnesium increased oil content up 43.8 % and with the addition of sulfur to 44.1 %. Oil content from the joint application of magnesium and sulfur to winter rape in Krasnodar region improved the oil content level from 45.0% to 46.2 %. This enabled an increase in oil harvest of 91-171 kg/ha in Moscow region and 72-134 kg/ha in Krasnodar region (Fig. 3).

Conclusion

Application of fertilizers in the AgroMag^® range in different doses and combinations promotes more balanced nutrition of oil crops and better assimilation of basic nutrition elements from different soils and NPK – fertilizers, which leads to additional growth in productivity and gross oil yield.