Wheat independent trial

A trial was conducted by Russell Ison, an agronomist at Tamworth Rural, in 2011 to evaluate the effectiveness of BioAg biostimulants in enhancing and improving a conventional fertiliser program in bread wheat. The trial was conducted at Brett and Jane Mason’s property Allawah, on the Oxley Highway at Somerton, west of Tamworth.

The trial site at Allawah on the Oxley Highway, west of Tamworth.

Trial aim

The aim of the trial was to determine the extent to which the application of BioAg biostimulants would enhance the effectiveness of the conventional fertilisers applied at sowing and whether an economic benefit would result from applying them.

Method

The ‘control’ treatment comprised an application of urea before sowing and of DAP at sowing (as shown in the following table) in line with district agronomic practice. In the BioAg plot, the same fertilisers were applied, but the BioAg products were applied in addition at the stages of development shown in the table below.

Summary of Trial Treatments – BioAg

Summary of Trial Treatments – Control

The trial layout was a large plot unreplicated. The ‘control’ and the BioAg treated plots were each 800 x 9m in area. The foliar treatments were applied using a three-metre boom, incorporating eight 110010 AI nozzles, mounted on a quad bike. The treatments were applied in a total volume of 80L/ha (e.g. 3 litres of Soil & Seed in 80 litres of water per hectare treated).

Results

The yields of the two plots were measured at harvest. The BioAg treated plot produced an additional 0.7 tonne per hectare, which represents a 12.7% increase over the control.

Conclusion

The addition of the BioAg biostimulants to the conventional fertiliser program in wheat has shown a positive result on yield and hence gross margin in this trial. The BioAg treated crop yielded an extra 700kg/ha (12.7%) compared with the control and this produced an extra $168.55/ha in gross margin (37.7%) after taking into account the extra cost of the BioAg treatment. The BioAg biostimulants therefore gave an excellent return on investment in this trial.