23 Follow us on Twitter: @PrairieFarming Better Farming | March 2024 forms,” says Banerjee. When a farmer adds phosphate to the soil, a rough estimate is “40 per cent (of the nutrients) are available, and the other 60 per cent is unavailable.” The specific ratios vary with different nutrients. When nutrient availability is considered, there are two parts to the explanation. One is the form, as has been mentioned, but the other is within the soil. Plant-available forms of nutrients are the ionic forms – like nitrate and sulphate. These ions have positive or negative charges. Positively charged ions, like ammonium (NH4+), will be drawn to the negatively-charged organic matter and soil particles. This “fixes” the nutrients to the soil, removing them from the soil solution and making them unavailable to the plant for uptake. Alternatively, other ions in the soil can have chemical reactions with the nutrient ions we need, and can precipitate out the nutrients, also making the nutrients unavailable to the plant. Fortunately, the bacteria present in the biological amendments “can unlock those bonds, so the plants can take them back,” says Banerjee. This is where biostimulants come into play. “Biostimulants contribute to overall plant health, improving nutrient use efficiency, crop quality, or the plant’s ability to cope with stress,” explains Roelants. Healthy soils have a variety of microbes, and the bacteria in biologicals is naturally derived. Agriculture is an essential industry; unfortunately, agricultural practices also interrupt many of the natural cycles that would occur without human influence. This can throw the biology of the soil and the system out of balance. “Chemistry can’t sell without the biology,” says Banerjee. “I would argue that biologicals might be farmer’s least expensive (soil nutrition) option. This is nature enhancing nature.” Banerjee is hopeful for the biologicals market within Canada. “There’s already a huge global market, I’m confident that Canada’s market will grow, too.” However, a big problem for the biologicals industry is “farmers going back to what they know will work, because the other answers aren’t there.” Banerjee is confident that those answers will come. “Our biology is getting nearly as precise as the chemistry.” Unfortunately, the history of biological amendments is a little bumpy. Chris Dumigan, the Biologicals field specialist with Syngenta, explains, “there is widespread skepticism surBIOLOGICAL AMENDMENTS Manas Banerjee Chris Dumigan
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