Natural Growth boosts strawberry crop in yield and sweetness

Trials with the recently introduced plant strengthener Natural Growth are showing consistent improvements in yield and sweetness during a year-round trial of Strawberries.…

i-Plant Nutrition

Using an app to use resources more efficiently

“Since we’re introducing a new farming method to the Egyptian agricultural scene, a large part of our difficulties lie in finding the right expertise when it comes to hydroponics. Using the i-Plant software helps us save fertilizer costs and use our resources most efficiently,” says Seif Salama with…

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"Soaring fertilizer prices put global food security at risk"

The rolling crises of the past few years made so many vital commodities visible that plenty of us never gave much thought, like nickel, silicon chips, lumber, and the latest edition to this list: Fertilizer. Skyrocketing fertilizer costs, like those made from nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK),…

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Human urine could be an effective and less polluting crop fertiliser

French researchers think they may have found a unique natural alternative to chemical fertilizers. Their discovery reduces environmental pollution and helps to feed a growing global population, all thanks to an unexpected ingredient - human urine. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers boost agricultural…

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Asia: Rising fertilizer costs are catching up to rice farmers, threatening supplies

Soaring fertilizer costs have rice farmers across Asia scaling back their use, a move that threatens harvests of a staple that feeds half of humanity and could lead to a full-blown food crisis if prices aren’t curbed. From India to Vietnam and the Philippines, prices of crop nutrients crucial to boosting…

Application for fertilizer efficiency research now open

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and OCP North America, a global plant-nutrition company, launched the FFAR-OCP Disruptive Technology Fellowship, or the FFAR-OCP Fellowship. This funding opportunity supports up to five early-career scientists conducting research on fertilizer…

Sri Lankan coconut industry faces collapse without fertilizer

The coconut, Sri Lanka’s main traditional export product, is facing imminent collapse if the much needed fertilizer is not made available. If this does not happen by 2025, Sri…

KAREN SCHIELY, AKRON BEACON JOURNAL

US (OH): Akron-area farms battle higher costs, led by fertilizer

As prime planting season approaches in Northeast Ohio, costs are breaking new ground for Akron area farms. Price increases for fertilizer, seed, gas, diesel and even containers and packaging have outpaced wider measures of inflation and will lead to higher food costs, say local farm owners. “Nothing…

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The Russia-Ukraine war's impact on global fertilizer markets

Higher fertilizer prices and / or a shortage of fertilizer supply resulting from the war in Ukraine will not have an immediate impact on food prices and food production. Currently the ferilizer market in the northern hemisphere is relatively quiet. All transoceanic flows for the upcoming northern…

JBS joins the fertilizer market

Protein-based food giant JBS has started up the production of fertilizers. Located in Guaiçara, state of Sao Paulo, Campo Forte Fertilizantes will have capacity to manufacture 150,000 tons of products per year. This initiative is the result of a study started in 2016 to identify how to best use residues from operations. The…

"Nanobubble tech improves root health, for better quality peppers"

Bell peppers, especially red, yellow and orange, consistently rank among the top 10 most popular fruit both in North America and in European countries. It’s important for growers seeking to capitalize on the fruit’s popularity to understand the common challenges with growing this crop. Bell peppers have…

Case study on reduced fertilizer use

Verano365 partnered with a Top 100 greenhouse grower to evaluate Evofactor on 13 plant varieties during plug production from seed. The trial compared the grower’s standard…

TerraGrow liquid, new microbial plant health promoter

TerraGrow Liquid is a specialty blend of beneficial microbial organisms formulated to invigorate plant health. When applied to the soil, it quickly establishes beneficial microbes in the root zone strengthening the rhizosphere, improving nutrient availability, promoting root growth, and bolstering plant…

India: Kochi students create low-cost solution that triples hydroponics yield

A group of students from the Federal Institute of Science and Technology (FISAT), Ernakulam, have developed a nutrition formula in hydroponics farming that gives three times more yield with a lesser intake of water and fertilizers. The project was initiated in 2019 under the leadership of three assistant…

Research team touts vegetable benefits for used coffee grounds

A study has found that used coffee grounds offer several benefits such as being able to boost vegetable growth when added to compost or fertilizer and as an insect repellent to protect citrus fruit. The use of a compost pile with 10 percent of it consisting of coffee grounds to grow water spinach in its…

High fertilizer costs: "even more important to follow agronomic recommendations"

High input costs are on every farmer’s mind these days as they look for ways to manage expenses and to determine what crops make the most financial sense to grow. In this article, Heather Overton with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture gives advice to growers struggling with high fertilizer…

The world's largest strawberry

This week, an enormous strawberry grown in Israel has entered the Guinness Book of Records. Weighing an impressive 289 grams, the strawberry was cultivated using Haifa Group’s unique nutritional products. The strawberry is of the variety 229, developed by Israel's Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center in Rishon…

"Nanobubbles improve root health and lead to better quality peppers"

Bell peppers, especially red, yellow and orange, consistently rank among the top 10 most popular fruit both in North American and in European countries. It’s important for growers seeking to capitalize on the fruit’s popularity to understand the common challenges with growing this crop. Bell peppers have…

USDA to invest in innovative American-made fertilizer

USDA announced that it will support additional fertilizer production for American farmers to address rising costs, including the impact of Putin’s price hike on farmers, and…

Commissioner Nikki Fried shares fertilizer concerns with USDA

In response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture announcing plans for a $250 million investment to support additional domestic fertilizer production for American farmers…

Is an effective pesticide which leaves no residue in the environment possible?

Tozer Seeds and collaborators have won funding from the UK Government’s Farming Innovation Pathways competition to research into alternative (to traditional chemical-based) seed treatments to control seed and crop diseases as well as improve germination and crop establishment characteristics. Field of…

Nordic greenhouse grower to capture CO2 from air outside

Plants need CO2 to grow. Some growers generate CO2 by burning fossil fuels, but why not use the outside air that contains an abundance of CO2 in itself? GreenCap Solutions has developed a way to do just that, capturing CO2 from the air outside and feeding it to plants inside the greenhouse, that way…

"Biostimulants can help growers overcome fertilizer crisis"

Fertilizer prices have doubled or more in the past six months, which is bad news for farmers, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine could make it even worse.  Until recently, prices were associated with the rise in natural gas prices, along with supply chain disruptions and weather events around the world. However,…

Loss of Russian fertilizers is a mere inconvenience to South Africa

South Africa imports between 70 to 75% of its fertilizer needs, some of that from Russia – how it will be affected by the Russian war is a source of concern to South African farmers. In 2020 South Africa imported 11.3% of its fertilizer needs from Russia, third-most behind Saudi Arabia and China, with…

Nitrogen in the air can be used as fertilizer

The air consists of about 78% nitrogen (N2). With electricity, this element can be converted to nitrate (NO3), and after treatment with clean water (H2O), mainly nitric acid (HNO3) is left. This element can be used as fertilizer in tomato cultivation, for example, according to a study by the Business…