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OCTOBER 2020
R & D & I | AGRICULTURE

Sulphur for agricultural use: To what extent does it promote development and yield in rapeseed cultivation?

  • Rapeseed cultivation is characterized by its demand in terms of absorption of nutrients from agricultural soil, especially sulphur.
  • For this reason, to guarantee the best development and production conditions of the crop, the use of fertilization and biostimulation solutions rich in this macronutrient is recommended.

 

In recent years the cultivation of rapeseed has experienced a significant increase in terms of yield and production. This increase has stood at 29.14% in the last 12 years and has been mainly due to a greater knowledge of the crop, an improvement in cultivation techniques and the entry of new varieties whose genetics clearly exceed the productive potential of traditional varieties.

Rapeseed fits well into a crop rotation on grain farms, breaking the cycle of weeds, diseases and pests found in the cereal crops. In addition, rapeseed crop significantly outperforms most other winter and spring-sown crops in terms of commercial value.

However, it must be taken into account that the optimal cultivation of rapeseed requires a more technical treatment during its growth and harvest period, as well as a detailed analysis of the best conditions to contribute to obtaining a better productivity in quantitative terms and qualitative.

In this sense, if we start by evaluating its requirements at the fertilization level, we must take into account that rapeseed is a species that is characterized by its high absorption of macronutrients from agricultural soil such as phosphorus, potassium and, above all, sulphur.

For this reason, it is recommended to make a bottom fertilizer (or bottom and cover) of between 35 to 80 UF ​​/ ha of total sulphur. A sulphur deficiency has a direct negative impact on crop yield, which can reach 200 kg / ha, and even more.

Normally, the sulphur is applied together with the nitrogen fertilizer and this contribution must be proportional to the amount of nitrogen applied. However, a supply in the form of sulphates, especially in rainy and irrigated conditions, may not be enough to maintain these needs. For this reason, it is advisable to apply a base fertilizer based on elemental sulphur, which avoids sulphur losses through leaching and guarantees a constant release of sulphates throughout the crop cycle.

From AFEPASA we recommend our product AFESOL, a fertilizer with 90% elemental sulphur and 10% bentonite, which, when absorbing moisture, disintegrates easily, achieving rapid decomposition and incorporation of sulphur into the soil.

Furthermore, in crops such as rapeseed, during situations of biotic and abiotic stress, the extra supply of sulphur is justified from the point of view of the resistance of the crop to these stress conditions.

Therefore, we recommend foliar application of our SOLFOUREA PALLARES LIQUID product, with elemental sulphur and enriched with boron and molybdenum. This product, applied before flowering, provides the rapeseed crop with an extra supply of sulphur and nitrogen at a key moment for its development. On the other hand, the application of boron and molybdenum allows to obtain a better flowering and a better quality of the pollen, thus ensuring better fruit set and a higher fat content in the rapeseed grain.

This product can be applied together with conventional phytosanitary treatments and, thanks to its elemental sulphur content, it also provides an interesting preventive fungicidal effect.

The benefits derived from this AFEPASA value proposition for the cultivation of rapeseed have been demonstrated in field trials carried out during the 2019-2020 campaign in Navarra and Burgos. The application of SOLFOUREA PALLARES LIQUID provided in all cases an increase in production compared to the control and an increase in the percentage of fat in the rapeseed grains that exceeded 4% in some cases.

In addition, the application of SOLFOUREA PALLARES LIQUID compared to competitor products with boron and molybdenum, notably reduced the incidence of fungal diseases such as Alternaria sp.