Fertilizer N and P Best Management Practice for wheat in southeastern Australia

An innovative approach to best management practices (BMPs) for fertilizer use is the Right Source, Right Rate, Right Time, Right Place concept. It is also known as 4R nutrient stewardship. It can be applied to managing either crop nutrients in general (including organic sources) or specific fertilizers. This concept can help farmers and the public understand how the right management practices for fertilizer contribute to sustainability goals for agriculture. In a nutshell, the 4R nutrient stewardship concept involves crop producers and their advisers selecting the right source-rate-time-place combination from practices validated by research conducted by agronomic scientists. Goals for economic, environmental and social progress are set by—and are reflected in performance indicators chosen by—the stakeholders to crop production systems.

Based on research undertaken in the cropping regions of Victoria, Australia, the 4R's approach for the use of fertilizer on wheat in this region have been developed. This is not a definative document that will describe every situation, but does provide a framework for growers and advisors to work together in refining these guides for their own situations.

Two guides have been produced, one on Nitrogen and the other on Phosphorus. They can be downloaded by selecting the icons below.

These Best Management Practice guides were supported by field and glasshouse research from the GRDC project UM00023 Synchronising nutrient supply and demand. The reports cover field experiments with wheat in Victoria comparing different sources (products) and placement strategies for N and P and can be downloaded as below.