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What is the purpose of using Soil & Seed®?
Soil & Seed provides the complex food supply for the micro-organisms in the soil to give them energy so that balanced and efficient nutrients are available to the plant or pasture (both roots and herbage). This food supply is a complex of naturally occurring Vitamins, Amino Acids, Hormones (natural), Enzymes, Proteins and special mineral compounds
What is the purpose of using Roots & Shoots® on my pasture?
Roots & Shoots supplies natural Vitamins, Hormones, Amino Acids, Enzymes, Proteins and special mineral forms. Roots & Shoots feeds the microorganisms on the plant (pasture), is absorbed into the plant and balances it and when the majority of sugars that are produced by photosynthesis are shipped back to the roots each night the remainder of the Roots & Shoots is tied in with it. Thus the Roots & Shoots has a stimulating effect on the soil microorganisms to further support the base established by Soil & Seed application.
Subsequent applications of Roots & Shoots refresh the food supply with the frequency based on the intensity of grazing and growth required.
What is the role of RPR in BioAg programmes?
When a BioAg programme calls for RPR it is needed for Phosphate for the microorganisms and to stimulate the organisms to draw more phosphate from the soil. Phosphate is part of the key energy drivers in the soil/plant system. BioAg facilitates the availability of functional phosphate which will not lock up in the soil and is available all season
What is the role of Lime (calcium) in BioAg programmes?
Calcium is the foundation energy source for the soil/plant system. Once good biological activity is established calcium will be readily made available from the base reserves in your soil. It may require periodic applications (at low rates) to act as a catalyst and for maintenance.
What is the reason for applications of herbs and vitamins?
Selected herbs and vitamins are provided as another food resource to feed microorganisms so they can clean up certain toxins in the soil, draw Calcium and Potassium from locked up reserves in the soil. The extremely small amounts act as catalysts in this action.
BioAg recommends applying Roots & Shoots® 4-7 days after grazing or when pasture is actively growing. This is not always possible, so how long after grazing or cutting can I effectively apply Roots & Shoots®?
The key point is apply to “actively growing” pasture rather than a strict time frame. Roots & Shoots feeds the microorganisms on the plant (pasture), is absorbed into the plant and balances it and when the majority of sugars that are produced by photosynthesis are shipped back to the roots each night the remainder of the Roots & Shoots is tied in with it. Thus the Roots & Shoots has a stimulating effect on the soil microorganisms to further support the base established by Soil & Seed application.
This process only occurs when plants or pasture are ‘active’. Hence there is no benefit to be derived by applying Roots & Shoots in drought conditions or extreme cold when pasture growth has ceased.
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What does Digest-it® do?
Digest-it is primarily made for digesting stubble in situ, dead root and plant material or various effluent waste. The organisms stimulated by Digest-it have three essential duties in nature. 1: is to align them with the plant to supply effective and efficient metabolites. 2: to decompose dying roots and leftover organic matter and 3: to breakdown any toxins whether chemical or biological to create an environment conducive for all microorganisms to fulfill their needs. The Digest-it is designed to have a broad scope of digesting situations, e.g. effluent ponds at dairy or pig farms, compost acceleration, odour control in animal bedding.
Will BioAg help prevent bloat?
Bloat is caused by too much nitrogen in the plant. The nitrogen will displace Phosphate in cool, cloudy or wet weather and Magnesium will not be available to slow the release of Nitrogen into the plant. Clover can release a lot of N in those conditions. BioAg assists with nutrient balance in pasture and can result in improved control of problematic nitrates. However, if the conditions remain cool and wet the microorganisms will be slow at keeping balance within the pasture and conventional bloat intervention might be required.
Can I use Digest-it® for winery waste?
Yes. A rate of 0.1% for every 1000litres of liquid waste (approximately) entering your sump is the recommended starting point. An initial ‘charge’ amount should also be added to the sump at 2ltr per 1,000 ltr of sump capacity. This should be diluted @ 20:1 and high pressure sprayed around the surfaces of the sump and over the residual waste if possible.
Can I use Digest-it® in Septic tanks?
Yes. It works in the same way as animal effluent treated with Digest-it. Our suggestion is to dose 0.2 litre (200mils) monthly into each toilet cistern.
Is BioAg a fertiliser?
YES it is a set of fertilisers with the exception of RumiMate which is an animal nutritional supplement.
The value of the BioAg liquids is far greater than the "NPK" analysis due to the culturing process during manufacture which metabolises the ingredients into biological forms. The value does not stop there however as the BioAg liquids are also an extremely broad food resource for soil and plant biology containing natural amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and growth hormones.
Can I use Soil &Seed® and Roots &Shoots® through an overhead travelling irrigator?
Soil & Seed can be put out through a travelling irrigator via a liquid fertiliser injector with enough water to wash the Soil and Seed into the soil. Calculate the area being irrigated and add the required amount of Soil and Seed needed per ha.
Root and Shoots is applied to the plant foliage so is best put out as a separate foliar spray so that it is not washed off the foliage it is applied to.
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Can I get soluble SOA (Sulphate of Ammonia) so I can mix it with the Soil & Seed?
Yes, but we do not recommend it. SOA will eat everything so cleaning equipment is critical especially with steel. There may also be compatibility issues and increased product cost needs to be considered.
Should I could to treat my effluent pond with Digest-it® when the cows have been dried off?
No. Low level digestive activity will continue relative to pond temperature. We recommend recharging when milking resumes. Discuss this with your local BioAg agent as to the appropriate amount.
Do dairy cleaning detergents’ affect the performance of Digest-it®?
No. Once in diluted form the detergents will not unduly impact the performance of Digest-it.
Does Digest-it® replace the use of Soil & Seed® when is irrigated over the pasture?
Use of Digest-it will reduce the amount of Soil & Seed but not totally replace it. Soil & Seed provides a much broader food resource for soil micro-organisms as well being a specific soil nutrient formulation to improve fertility.
Can I use my other fertilisers as well?
A BioAg fertility programme incorporates all required fertilisers. You don’t need to add anything. In fact this may be counterproductive.
I am an organic grower. Do BioAg products completely replace inputs I have traditionally used like fish, seaweed, molasses etc?
In most cases yes. The cultures are made with ingredients which include humic acids, seaweed and kelp, fish hydrolysate, carbohydrates, etc. These become metabolised into forms that are most readily available to micro-organisms. The various BioAg formulations are food resources for soil and plant biology which are most readily assimilated and require no further biological digestion or transformation. Addition of other inputs can upset the energy and balance BioAg is working with and be detrimental.
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I believe I need a source of nitrogen for growth. What about fish and other nitrogen sources?
Fish hydrolysate is sometimes required in BioAg programmes but at low rates (usually 8-10l/Ha) as a catalyst and sometimes we are using the phosphate in the fish to draw calcium into the plant rather than as a source of N. In conventional farming systems we may include Calcium Nitrate at low rates if N is required. In isolated instances urea may be used for specific purposes. Whenever BioAg prescribes N there is always an accompanying BioAg liquid.
Are there generic label rates and timings or do I have to stick to a programme from BioAg?
We are developing base generic label rates and base programmes as we establish history and experience in NZ. However, best results and least cost will be achieved by following a programme built for your soils and crops. There is no extra charge for this service.
In time as my soils evolve biologically will the rates and frequency of BioAg application change?
Yes. This will be due to improved nutrient dynamics as result of consistent implementation of BioAg programmes. The BioAg philosophy is to address and rectify the causes (rather than treat the symptoms) of declining soil fertility and structure and therefore increase plant and animal health and thrift. This takes time but as vitality builds the requirement for BioAg inputs reduces.
How quickly will I see results?
Much depends on the starting point i.e. the ‘health’ of your soil and plants and also the farm or orchard infrastructure available to implement the BioAg programmes. The BioAg system promotes continual improvement. We have seen very positive responses inside six months but generally it is not until the second growing season that the biological system shows signs of repair and really kicks in to gear. In pastoral situations you should notice an improvement in rooting depth, soil structure, earthworm numbers, moisture holding capacity and clover nodules turning pink within a relatively short period of time.
For cropping, tree and vine crop aspects such as fruit or produce quality, weight, seed maturity, leaf maintenance, alleviated soil compaction are some of the benefits to observe.
Improvements will be incremental and will consolidate for as long as the BioAg systems are used.
I would like to try BioAg out with just Soil & Seed. Will that work?
Think of using BioAg like following a recipe – if you leave things out the result is likely to disappoint! BioAg is very cost competitive. We simply ask growers and farmers who want to try BioAg to do so with a full programme. We would far rather you did 1 hectare correctly than 10 partially.
Can I mix Soil & Seed with Roots & Shoots or Flower & Fruit?
No. Soil & Seed should not be mixed with either foliar product.
Why do you recommend that Bioag soil and foliar products be applied within 48 hours of each other for tree and vine crops?
This application regime applies almost exclusively to tree and vine crops as well as berry fruit crops including strawberry. It does not apply for pasture.
Experience spanning nearly 20 years has shown that they interact with each other to stimulate the translocation of calcium and phosphate between the leaf and the roots and improve the availability of these nutrients. Application within 48 hours of each other has demonstrated the optimal results. The order is not important just the close synchronisation of the soil and foliar applications where this is called for in the BioAg programmes.
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What water rates should I use when applying BioAg products?
There is no set water rate. For Soil & Seed or Digest-it which are applied to soil you require enough water to ensure that the application breaks the soil crust. Water rates can be as low as 80L/ha (i.e. for helicopter application) and up to 2000L/ha (i.e. if necessary in extremely dry conditions.) Application via irrigation, during periods of heavy dew, preceding or during rainfall events are useful strategies.
For foliar applications of Roots & Shoots or Flower & Fruit the operator needs to use an appropriate water rate to achieve full coverage. |
