NPK INPUT REDUCTION
Depending on the soil and the crop it may be possible to reduce fertilizer inputs, such as nitrogen, thus providing significant savings and improvement in soil microflora populations. Over a 2 year period using Sea-Crop one farmer reduced his nitrogen input by 30% while increasing yields above the state average significantly. A case study about a popcorn farmer whose field is managed by John Kempf of Advancing Eco-Agriculture illustrates this:
Year |
Nitrogen per acre |
% reduction |
State average yield |
This farm's yield |
% better |
1 |
158 lbs |
0 |
1,800 lbs |
2,500 lbs |
39 |
2 |
116 lbs |
26.5 |
2,900 lbs |
4,000 lbs |
38 |
3 |
110.7 lbs |
30 |
3,000 lbs |
5,000 lbs |
67 |
Sea-Crop use was started at the beginning of year 2.
During this same time period potassium input was also reduced by 7.5%. Phosphorus input remained unchanged.
Significantly, in year 3 the crop came in 2 weeks earlier than others in the area that were planted at the same time. This early harvest characteristic is typical with crops where Sea-Crop has been applied.
Although this farmer was very successful in substantially reducing NPK inputs in a short period of time, Ambrosia Technology recommends not cutting those inputs by more than 20% per year. Farms are each different as to their soils, locations and weather so the above results may not be achievable in every case.