One of the last letters I received from the late Bob Harkness.
My personal experience in soil and crop improvements goes back over 30 years from Sales Manager of a S.A. based Mineral Fertiliser Company to being one of the first licensed manufacturers in S.A. of a Western Australian multi-nutrient foliar fertiliser. Applied to all manner of crops and pastures it was eminently successful BUT being a new development, though being based on overseas research and practises, was not accepted by Australian Agriculture authorities for many years despite one of my mentors in the early stages was a Professor of Botany who studied with, another Professor at Sheffield University, who , eventually, became Dean of a major Agriculture College in Australia.
I was also fortunate in getting to know and work with a Western Australian Microbiologist who developed various strains of Soil Microbes that were freeze dried and were user friendly for soil and foliar applications for most types of crops. So, four years ago following an inquiry from one of my clients, I came across a product called Pyro Ag, and the claims that were made seemed to good to be true.
Stimulates microbial activity, improves plant photo-synthesis which in turn can eventually, via the roots, sequester non- labile CARBON into the soil, Pyro Ag STOPS rhizoctonia a virulent root disease etc. It is estimated that Pyro Ag contains more than 300 constituents all of which work SYNERGISTICALY within the plant/soil.
Pyro Ag must be diluted prior to application. At a dilution rate of 1 part Pyro Ag to 200 parts of water and used with summer weed control chemicals my clients have reduced the inclusion of chemicals by up to 50%. A HUGE COST SAVING.
Post seeding, Pyro Ag dilution is 1 part Pyro Ag to 500 parts water. Applied as a foliar from early crop emergence to even seed set I can only say the results have been incredible. Yield increases of 2 – 4 tonnes ha, depending on soil types and seasonal conditions and IMPROVED quality. In terms of Cereals, heavier grain weights, lower screenings and higher classifications.
There has been a lot of work put into this product and given of the amount of Chemicals, artificial Nitrogen and Phosphorous Fertlisers now used Australia and our soils are being continually degraded and our food quality is much lower than it was even 30 years ago.
An American Scientist, Dr. Phil. Gregory, recently came across piece by the UN Agricultural Organisation that if soil degradation continues because of the above reasons there is only 60 YEARS OF FARMING LEFT. That is in USA. What about Australia where we have the most fragile soils in the World.
In closing, quotes from Dr. Christine Jones, a well published scientist, “The future of Australia depends on the future of our soils – and our willingness to look after it” AND “ If farmers lifted by just 2% the level of Carbon in their soils it would go a long way to overcome Global Warming”
