The program consists of a seed dressing delivering 72 essential trace elements (including zinc) natural hormones, auxins and microbial inoculums to enhance root development vital for the health of growing plant reducing ever-increasing crop and root diseases.
Seed Dressing represents the highest cost-to-benefit ratio of any input in
Broadacre farming and should ideally form an integral part of every fertilizer program. Microbial inoculums enable farmers to reduce Nitrogen and phosphorus inputs and fix free atmospheric nitrogen and solubilise ‘locked-up' phosphorus.
The link between microbes and plants is based on the efficient uptake of plant nutrients by plant roots. The most powerful piece of evidence highlighting the importance of microbes to plants comes from the plant itself. Photosynthesis is the single most important plant process in which water, carbon dioxide and sunlight are combined then transformed into a simple sugar called glucose. Glucose is the energy source and building block for all plant growth. All plant processes are glucose dependent, including the energy intensive uptake of minerals from the soil via the roots.
Microlife in the root rhizosphere assists the plant in extracting vital nutrients that are, in turn, dissolved in the plant's sap for distribution to the leaves. The greater the microbial population in the rhizosphere, the greater the nutrient extraction by the plant. The microbes insure that the nutrients enter the plant in a balanced plant friendly form which raises the Brix levels and leads to reduced insect pressure.
Starter fertiliser has been made very simple this year at YLAD Living Soils with the introduction of specific blends for crops such as dual purpose, grain only, Canola and legumes. Each unique blend has been formulated with products that supply enhanced nutrients for crop growth that won't lock-up or leach and a carbon source to supply soil microbes with food.
The health and vigour of emerging seeds sets the potential for healthy productive plant growth resulting in a high yielding crop that can out-compete weeds and disease. A rhizoctonia study by the CSIRO found that slow growing wheat roots appear to accumulate proportionally more ‘bad' soil organisms then more vigorous growing roots.