At Bell Africa AgriTraders, we are soil nutrition specialists. Our focus is on precision farming. We aim to help farmers in South Africa and neighboring countries determine the most favorable fertilizer plan to increase or maintain their yields. For optimal crop production, you need effective nutrient management. The team at Bell Africa AgriTraders are here to help you find out just what nutrients you currently have in your fields, what nutrients are in excess, and which you are lacking.
Nutrient management need no longer be a yield limiting factor. To correctly and efficiently manage your crops, you need to have a better understanding of your field and how soil characteristics are distributed. Dry weather conditions make it extremely difficult to get a traditional soil probe into the ground consistently. Wet conditions could make them go too deep and once again you have inaccurate results.
Precision soil sampling techniques allows for very consistent and very accurate soil samples every single time thus eliminating problems. It helps determine the level of essential nutrient content in the soil available for the growth of your crops. When you apply fertilizer and lime without checking the status of your nutrients, it can result in and over or under application of chemicals.
Precision, agriculture-based soil sampling
Your soil is your farms’ greatest resource. Without it, you will not be able to plant and grow your crops. Precision agriculture tools and technologies such as GPS (global positioning system) and crop sensors, have led us to new precision soil sampling strategies and techniques. The key objective of precision soil sampling is to enable variable fertilizer application rates based on the needs of each zone within your field.
Precision sampling helps elevate the nutrient and PH statuses of fields. This helps farmers base their fertiliser and lime management decisions on. The nutrient levels in your crop vary by topography, water holding capacity, soil type, fertiliser management, organic matter and previous crop history.
With precision soil sampling techniques, your field will be divided into multiple zones of uniform structure or composition. Nutrients will then be applied based on the on the likelihood of the crop to respond to changes or modifications in those zones.
Using a soil-mapping machine, here is where precision soil sampling techniques use data from:
- The colour of your soil
- Topographical maps
- Yield monitors
- Spectral reflectance
- Electrical conductivity
The detailed information collected by these machines help to determine where soil texture and other properties like salinity change throughout your field. Bell Africa AgriTraders would like to help you tailor fertilizer application rates to exactly what is needed in different parts of your field. Here is how you can benefit:
- Higher fertiliser use efficiency
- Reduced nutrient loss
- Protection of surrounding natural resources
The surface of your soil does not tell the full story. After harvesting, many farmers are often left asking these questions:
- Does my soil have enough nutrients to produce a healthy yield?
- Was the pH in my soil off?
- How much potassium leached due to rain?
Soil sampling can answer these questions and allow you to be proactive about what you put in your fields. It eliminates guessing and saves on your bottom line. Farmers need to find ways to control their budgets and lower their production costs. Conducting precision soil sampling tests help you know for sure if you need to reduce or increase inputs across different fields
Precision soil sampling in South Africa
Today’s farmers need to sample differently from traditional soil sampling methods.
Precision soil sampling will help you to better quantify your soil test levels. It then enables you to prescribe fertilizer programs that maximise yield potential and preserve the environment.
Now is the time to make the move from traditional, composite whole-field soil sampling to zone and grid sampling. You will gain more detailed soil nutrient information as well as a deeper insight into better nutrient management.
The team at Bell Africa AgriTraders are passionate about the agricultural industry. We are a proudly South African company with a strong focus on crop development and soil health. We are a leading plant nutrition supplier in South Africa. Should you require our soil sampling services in, get in touch with us today. Our team is always ready to assist you
