Nitrate leaching is something that tillage farmers hear a lot about and the topic arose frequently this season as new nitrates regulations came into being to try to tackle nitrogen loss from tillage land. Chief among these regulations was the requirement to cultivate stubbles within 10 days of harvest to create a green cover to capture nutrients.

On tillage land, one of the main sources of nitrogen loss to the environment is via nitrate leaching to water. Many tillage farms are on relatively dry and free-draining land, meaning it is easier for nitrogen to travel to water.

Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN) is the most common nitrogen fertiliser used in tillage and is also subject to loss by volatilization to the air in the form of nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas.

Both greenhouse gas reduction and water quality are top of all policy agendas at present. In recent years, we have heard a lot about protected urea, which is urea that has an inhibitor applied. This inhibitor prevents the loss of nitrogen to the air as ammonia when urea is converted to ammonium.

Instinct

In 2022, Corteva Agriscience launched another nitrogen inhibitor – Instinct – which will be on the market in 2023. At the Irish Farmers Journal From the Tramlines farm walk last month, Liz Glynn from Corteva stated that Instinct is not using new technology. The basics of the product were developed by Dow in the 1950s.

The nitrogen stabiliser is used extensively around the world on many different crops, including maize. It has been trialled widely and is shown to reduce nitrogen loss to the environment, as well giving a slight yield increase.

The basics of the product are that once nitrogen has been applied to the crop, you apply Instinct as soon as possible afterwards. Instinct then works to slow down the bacteria that breaks down ammonium and converts it to nitrate.

This means that ammonium remains in the soil for longer, making it available for use by the crop for longer and nitrogen is not lost from the soil as nitrate. Yield jumps of between 5% and 10% have been reported from using the product.

As it reduces nitrogen losses to the environment, it should also allow farmers to reduce nitrogen application rates, as more nitrogen is available to the plant.

Given the association between nitrate loss and tillage farming, products like Instinct could be a game changer by reducing nitrogen losses to the environment.

This could also result in an easing in some of the new regulations which have come in recently, which meant extremely tight time frames at busy times of the year for tillage farmers.

However, more extensive research is needed into the product in Irish conditions and cropping systems. The product is not registered for use on grass.

The launch of this product to market is a positive development. Protected urea use is a major tool in the challenge of reducing emissions on grassland farms and if this product can reduce nitrous oxide emissions and nitrate loss to water, it could become a major tool in tillage farming.