om there, 50% of that sugar is exuded to the soil to feed the microbes. In return, the microbes make minerals available to the plants.
Copper needs to be a minimum of 2 ppm in the soil, but 5 are better and 10-15 are excellent.
Copper and sulphur influence flavour. Collectively, calcium, silicon, manganese, potassium, copper and boron are involved in plant strength. To stop pastures and crops from getting pests and diseases they need to be in the correct proportions.
Zinc should be in the 7-20 ppm range, but zinc is linked to phosphorus and must be correct for the level of phosphorus in the soil. I.e. at phosphorus levels of 240 kg/ha, zinc needs to be 12 ppm; at 365 ppm phosphorus, zinc needs to be 20 ppm.
Molybdenum needs to be 1-2 ppm and cobalt 1-2 ppm. Selenium hardly ever gets a mention. Add selenium (10%) at 1 kg/ha of product as selenium confers insect resistance. It is the cheapest trace element you can buy.
pH is the result of your soil’s chemical composition. It will be the result of your fertiliser programme; it should never be the cause of your fertiliser programme. If you follow the rules above, your pH will fall into the region of a healthy 6.4. However, having a pH of 6.4 without having balanced soil is meaningless.
The above guidelines not only confer pest and disease resistance, through an enhanced defence system for plants and an enhanced immune system for animals but also results in superior yields of any crops, year after year. If you want to follow up on this, please contact Kiwi Fertiliser.
Superior yields of pasture are in the range of 20,000 kg/ha and higher. The rewards are substantial. Specific numbers have been mentioned; ppm, %, or kg/ha. These figures are relevant only to Perry Agricultural Laboratory and Kinsey Agricultural Services and cannot and must not be applied to or from any other source or soil test. They are not interchangeable with another test. I.e. I have noted an NZ lab’s molybdenum figure of 5 ppm, but 1.6 ppm from Kinsey Agricultural Services in USA. The calcium figure from NZ was 38%, but over 78% from KAS. It doesn’t matter what the figures are. What matters is how to interpret them, how to overcome deficiencies and how to avoid or reduce excesses through applying the correct amount and type of fertiliser. Every credible lab will have its own rules. It's not a guessing game.
