Well received early, albeit patchy rainfall has seen the start of the pasture growing season with many paddocks to the south of the Bunbury Depot already greening up.

Early rains bring with them some excellent benefits and opportunities such as weed control, soil nutrient mineralisation and plants with bigger root systems that are more capable of handing the colder months.
For some growers an early break presents an opportunity to re-sow paddocks with ryegrass and clover to maximise dry matter accumulation. Choose the fertilizer that best matches the paddock requirements and Summit has an excellent range of products to choose from.

There have been good clover germinations in areas south of Bunbury where ALOSCA applications would be worthwhile. ALOSCA can be blended in with your fertilizer at our depots and would have a fit on clover in pastures where the rhizobia have lost their potency.
In areas yet to receive significant rain, be aware there will be less early to mid-season mineralisation of nutrients. If that continues, focus on early nitrogen and sulphur nutrition as they are key elements released in the mineralisation process. A good balance of those two elements will be critical.

We’ll blend ALOSCA with your fertilizer

ALOSCA is one of those highly practical and beneficial fertilizer additives that has gained a lot of interest from South West growers in recent years.
With ALOSCA granules, bentonite-clay protects the rhizobia from conditions that could otherwise reduce rhizobia numbers and limit plant nodulation and nitrogen production. In terms of application, you have a couple of options. You can buy the product and add it at the recommended rate when transferring fertilizer to the seeder or spreader.

That can be time consuming and a bit ‘hit or miss’ or, for the sake of simplicity and accuracy, you can choose to let us blend ALOSCA in with your fertilizer at our depots.
ALOSCA can be put out with fertilizer at any time, although growers really need to remember the best time is when there is good moisture and the legume roots are actively growing. There needs to be enough moisture to break down the granule, release the rhizobia and wash them into the soil.

We also encourage growers to have molybdenum in the fertilizer with ALOSCA, because moly has shown to be important factor in the nodulation process.
Remember, the ALOSCA blend rate needs to match your fertilizer application rate, so speak with your Local Area Manager.

Prescription blending of fertilizers by Summit really does go hand-in-hand with our site specific soil and tissue analysis. It’s all about identifying what your farm paddocks actually need, and then delivering high quality products and fertilizer blends to meet those needs. Summit depots have the capacity to apply a wide range of coatings to fertilizers, as well as blend products and additives like ALOSCA to meet your individual requirements.