GETTING the most out of modern high yielding milling wheats should try to follow five vital nutrition rules to hit premium winning spec'.

According to CF Fertilisers’ arable agronomist, Allison Grundy, analysis of the company’s latest round of trials has pinpointed key areas to concentrate on.

Highlighting the importance of precise soil assessment, accurate yield prediction, correct application rates, timings and appropriate P, K and S levels, the tips come from in-depth analysis.

“Across eight farm trials where calculated nitrogen need was compared to existing farm practice, not only were better results achieved with the more precise approach, but margin improvements of between £75/ha and £150/ha were also recorded," she said.

“Critically, as well as 10t/ha plus yields being consistently achieved, protein contents were maintained above the 12% level required for milling specification.”

The five action points:

1, Know what’s in the soil.

Knowing exactly what Nitrogen is available in the soil is an essential starting point for calculating how much extra will be needed in the shape of additional fertiliser.

“Wheat will always use available nitrogen to create yield before building quality, so if you don’t supply enough, you will never reach the point at which it is being used to increase grain protein content.

“Testing for soil mineral nitrogen (SMN) is a good starting point and whilst important, it only really gives you a picture of what is in the soil at the time of testing.

“Far more accurate, however, is CF’s N-Min test which combines the SMN analysis with a measure of additional available nitrogen (AAN) – the N likely to be mineralised in the soil between spring and harvest.”

2, Be realistic about yield potential.

Once you have the true picture of the soil’s N supply, you need to factor this into fertiliser calculations but to do this properly you have to be realistic about your yield potential.

“Modern varieties like Skyfall and Trinity have huge yield potential but there is no point targeting 12t/ha crops if the farm, field or soil structure is not really up to delivering this," she added.

“Much of this will be driven by the rotation, but you must be honest about the land’s ability to produce a high yield. Whilst you don’t want to starve a good crop, if you put more N on than the crop can realistically utilise, not only will it impact on margins, it could also create environmental issues.”

3, Feed the crop properly.

The latest milling wheat varieties are hungry crops, but they all respond differently to N applications, she pointed out.

“Generally speaking, if you want to get a 10t/ha crop at 13% protein, then you have to feed it as if it is a 12t/ha crop. It’s very likely that in many crops where proteins are less than expected, it is because plants are not reaching that point at which they start to produce quality.

“Over recent years, fertiliser levels have been falling and we’re all understandably nervous of applying too much, but it might be that we have to recalibrate the amount of N we need to get the best economic return out of new varieties.”

4, Little and often.

When application rates of 300kg N/ha plus – as indicated by some of the trials – are used, it’s essential that this gets utilised by the plant as efficiently as possible.

“They show that four, maybe five, applications are more appropriate if a larger amount of N is to be applied as opposed to the more traditional three-way split carried out on many farms.

“Applying more frequently means the crop will receive smaller amounts each time improving the recovery of N by the crop. In slow growing years, early N can be used to build tiller numbers and in forward crops, later applications can help thin crops out.”

5. Don’t forget P, K and S

Adequate levels of P and K, particularly potash, are essential to avoid growth checks and soil indices of around 2 need to be maintained to ensure optimum N utilisation.

“Without this the plant will not be able to use the N efficiently and both yield and quality are likely to suffer if these nutrients aren’t in balance.”

Most wheat crops destined for premium markets are also likely to require additional sulphur as levels in the air have decreased considerably in recent years, she added.

“Sulphur is required for the formation of the long chain amino acids cystine and methionine which help add volume and elasticity to dough and are key components of high quality milling wheat.”