Sustainable and affordable tools to increase crop productivity

Agriganics is a new company on New Zealand’s rural servicing landscape, focused on increasing crop productivity through environmentally sustainable and affordable tools.

Former farmer and fertiliser representative Bruce Hore of Otago is the owner/manager of Agriganics. The company’s has two products: a natural biostimulant, called BioPlus, which encourages the activity of beneficial microorganisms in the soil, thereby enhancing crop growth; and a soil mapping service, which records variations in soil so fertiliser can be applied more accurately.

The winter barley plants pictured were planted on the same day, but the two on the left were taken from a BioPlus-treated area. They show greater root mass, thicker stem development and increased tillering. BioPlus was applied about one week prior to drilling; the photo was taken two months later.

“After several years as a fertiliser representative, I became aware of these tools, which allowed farmers to apply their fertiliser more strategically and effectively. In the case of both BioPlus and the soil mapping, we encourage farmers to continue their fertiliser spend, but to re-consider how they apply it.”

The soil mapping uses a machine fitted with GPS technology to record data as it covers an area in 15m tramlines. The result is a colour-coded map, which you can then use as a guide, soil testing. Your fertiliser rep puts together suitable recommendations, which – together with the map data – are then downloaded onto a digital memory stick. The information can be read by modern fertiliser spreading trucks, allowing the fertiliser to be applied at variable rates.

“Essentially, Precision Soil Mapping allows farmers to increase dry matter production and crop yields, by ‘evening up’ growth across paddocks,” Mr Hore says.

The BioPlus System is also about increasing dry matter production. The liquid mix of enzymes, vitamins, hormones and other biological factors stimulates soil microbial activity, which, in turn, enhances plant growth. 

Mr Hore says the farmer feedback on BioPlus is positive and he is looking forward to analysing the test data. “There is plenty of overseas data supporting the use of biostimulants and it will be good to see how its performance measures up under New Zealand conditions. Certainly the difference in crop tillering, soil friability and worm populations is obvious already.”