Thinking differently with micronutrients
4th March 2025
Micronutrients are taking on greater significance as farmers and growers seek to improve yield and quality of crops.
Matching soil nutrient deficiencies to crop inputs may seem logical to avoid any single nutrient becoming the crop’s limiting factor, but how these nutrients are applied and become available to the crop is vitally important. Inputs applied at the right time, to the right areas of the field and in the right way, is essential for success.
It is an area that Toby Ward, nutrition agronomist at Origin Soil Nutrition, believes is changing, as growers seek the most efficient ways to maximise valuable inputs.
“Applying micronutrients at the beginning of the crops’ growing season, and ensuring the nutrients have extended-release characteristics so crops can access them through emergence, will avoid hidden hunger gaps developing as crops move through growth stages.”
Toby says these hunger gaps tend to become apparent after yield and quality potential has been affected. Once a nutrient deficiency in the crop has been spotted, it is about preserving the potential that remains, but this doesn’t have to be the case with proactive applications.
He continues: “This is why we advocate proactively applying micronutrients before the crop requires, based on soil and expected crop needs, with any further top ups applied as a foliar. If we leave all micronutrient inputs to foliar applications, crops will experience deficiencies much earlier.”
More landing sites
One way to apply micronutrients early in the season is via Origin’s prescription service, which matches nutrition inputs to crop requirements and can include up to 15 different nutrients in a single blend. Toby explains that as every field is different, a one size fits all application doesn’t stack up.
“Micronutrients are required in such small quantities, and each soil analysis will reveal different nutrient requirements. It doesn’t make them any less important than primary nutrients but adding what is a proportionally small amount of granules to a bag of nitrogen, would offer inconsistent application and a reduced number of landing sites. Conversely, applications of granular micronutrients on their own are considered time consuming and costly.”
The way Origin applies micronutrients to its fertiliser is very different to others and prevents inconsistent application. The micronutrients are ground into a powder that is electrostatically charged. This powder is applied to the fertiliser in the blending plant and provides an even coating across 100% of the granules. This guarantees nutrient availability immediately after application wherever the coated primary granules land.
Toby explains further: “The application method of our Micro-Match micronutrition offers 50 times more landing sites compared with applying granular micronutrients, which means more of the crop will have access to the nutrients. As these are applied at the start of the growing period, it bridges the six-week crop hunger gap between emergence and foliar applications.”
The additional landing sites offer greater crop access to the micronutrients. Zinc, boron, copper, iron, molybdenum, calcium and manganese can all be applied using Micro-Match and are compatible with Origin’s range of prescription fertilisers.
Micronutrients at key points
Toby stressed that Micro-Match isn’t a replacement for foliar applications later in the season, but it will help complement these and provide nutrition when the crop requires it most.
“We are not saying this is a silver bullet to micronutrient applications as we know there is still value in later season applications. However, crops do require these nutrients earlier, such as manganese to prevent yield loss and molybdenum for increasing nitrogen use efficiency, so using both methods ensures crops aren’t deficient at key points during the season.
“The dual action release of the micronutrients means it’s available for the crop to uptake on application but also has extended availability,” says Toby.
