On the implementation and details of this practice, decide based on the region, crop rotation, soil, farm specifics, determine which type of cover crop benefits you and implement it following the instructions of the chosen specialist!
Fertilizers can increase crop yields. This not only provides important benefits for farmers' incomes and food security, but also produces environmental benefits by reducing our demand for agricultural land. Many countries would benefit from using more fertilizer.
When over-applied, they can also become an environmental pollutant. We might assume that there is nothing we can do about it: that to get higher yields we need more fertilizer and therefore cause more pollution. But research shows that this is not necessarily true.
Farmers in many countries can reduce fertilizer use without sacrificing food production!
One of the challenges is that it can be hard to know where it's needed. Some crops in the field may not be able to get enough nitrogen, while others have more than enough. Often, the easiest and quickest solution is to apply it everywhere.
But with emerging technologies, we can do better.
Involtor offers you the opportunity to create simulations of your culture and needs by applying specially developed software with over 30 years of confirmed results.
From April 2024 Involtor offers you access to satellite software and together we will be able to implement "precision agriculture", which allows us to see exactly where fertilizer is most needed. Consult plant breeding technologies could also offer new opportunities in reducing fertilizer use.
Science is helping us improve our use of nitrogen, but there is a natural opportunity, the simplest and oldest of all cover crops with the proper rotation adaptation, planting beans, peas, and broad beans. They have the ability to capture nitrogen from the atmosphere and convert it into reactive nitrogen. This is called “biological fixation."Unlike most other crops where we have to add additional nitrogen, they create it themselves. Growing more legumes — either alone or alongside other crops — is one of the easiest ways we can get nitrogen into the soil.
We can greatly reduce pollution without reducing crop yields. Less pollution, more food, higher farmer profits, and less farmland make this a win-win problem if we can implement the right solutions.