Guillermo D. Rueda / [email protected]
It was about to fall, but it surprised everyone almost from one season to the next: after 24 years, corn reached 50 million tons and surpassed soybean production in Argentina to become the most important of all grains.
Jorge Bassi, president of Fertilizar Asociación Civil, explains the reasons.
He referred to improvements in genetics; to technology in the management of field crops (read sowing dates and density) and, finally, combined with better nutrition.
In all cases, the contribution of nutrients has a fundamental role to continue climbing in yields.
To arrive at this reality, a hinge date occurred in the year 2015.
After correcting aspects related to the commercialization of the crop, the surface of grain corn in our country went from 4 million hectares to 6.3 M / H.
This data is not minor to explain the phenomenon.
Jorge Bassi, president of Fertilizar Asociación Civil.
“Corn becomes the most produced grain in an international context of medium to low prices, thanks to the work done by the sector in recent years, which allowed it to gain productivity and stability, successfully adapting to different environments,” says Bassi.
For the year 2014, soybean production in our country was 60.8 million tons; corn was at 28.7 million tons.
The progression was remarkable, unthinkable by the actors involved in the chain and beyond the expectation that always pointed to growth.
Just like that, the 2019/2020 campaign ended with a corn production of 50 million tons. And soybeans were at 49.6 M / T.
“The area increase for this period was 60%; and the 75% increase in production ”, he stated.
“The higher percentage in the increase in production, above the increase in surface area, indicates that we are producing more kilos of corn grain per hectare. And this is greater and better use of technologies, ”said Bassi.
“Better input and management technology allowed higher yields and lower production costs per ton produced,” he added.
According to data from the Buenos Aires Cereal Exchange, in the central region of the country, specifically in the south of Córdoba and Santa Fe and north of Buenos Aires and La Pampa, average yields increased by 82.2 quintals per hectare at 93.85 Q / H.
“The trend was to gain 278 kilos per hectare every year. This, campaign after campaign, positions corn increasingly better ”, he assured.
As the technology is directly linked, Bassi listed the improvement in the genetics of hybrids, especially BT, which are transgenic varieties to face the attack of insects.
“This opened the sowing window to late plantings, and secondly, to hybrids with the best performance against water stress and the best supply of nutrients,” explained the director of Fertilize.
“The adaptation of corn to different environments was key, since the crop became competitive because it managed to increase yields and stability,” he said.
“There are plans to achieve successful corn with 80,000 or 40,000 plants, depending on the environment and achieving profitability objectives,” he added.
Another factor in the improvement in nutrition occurred due to a greater contribution of nitrogen (N) and the practice of balanced fertilization.
“Since 2015, the producers have been increasing the doses by more than 20%. Thus it went from 190 to 239 kilos per hectare ”, he pointed out.
Ceiling
Now, the question is: what is the potential limit of fertilization?
The institution began systematization work in its network of tests.
In these sites, different nutrition strategies are analyzed starting from plots without fertilization (“control”); plots with current fertilization (frequent use of producer application); a “recommended” fertilization and an application aimed at maximum yield.
“Only between the ‘current’ application and the ‘control’ there are eleven percentage points of difference, but the improvement gap is still 22%, or 1,700 kilos per hectare on average, if we compare it with a strategy that aims to achieve high returns, ”he explained.
He also said that, should producers decide to intensify their production to achieve high yields, investment has increased.
“But the repayment is very interesting: 200 dollars of extra income for a cost of 130 dollars,” he said.
“The return on this investment in fertilizers gives us 53%,” he calculated.
The dose
Engineer Bassi argued that balanced fertilization is very important.
“Basically, it must start from a clear and defined strategy for the four main nutrients; that is, nitrogen-N, phosphorus -P-, sulfur -S- and Zinc-Zn, throughout the Humid Pampa, plus the addition of potassium in the province of Entre Ríos ”, he added.
The manager also commented that nitrogen is the basis of the performance of grasses. “In corn, the requirement is 20-22 kilos of N per ton of grain,” he said.
But he warned: “You have to make adjustments taking into account the environment, the hybrid and the planting density. In high doses of N, it is important to divide the dose, adjusting according to plan, state of the crop and perspectives (EUN) ”.
The equation for phosphorus was also considered.
“The highest yields occurred with P replacement strategies (50-130 kilos per hectare), with improvements in the levels of extractable phosphorus in the soil (3.1 kg P = 1 ppm),” he explained.
The incorporation of sulfur to the management of nutrition with doses of 10 to 15 kilos per hectare of S, on average, improves the yield by 715 kilos per hectare, in environments with low organic matter (OM) and levels of sulfates 0-20 lower at 10 ppm.
Regarding the ZN there is a high frequency of responses with improvements in yields of 600 kilos per hectare on average with 1 ppm as a reference in the soil analysis.
The engineer Bassi recalled that carbon is a fundamental element for systems, but that it cannot be added with fertilizers. “We have to achieve this through the management of crop rotations and stubble,” he said.
“In recent years, the incorporation of grasses (for corn and wheat) has been good news: the carbon contribution increased by practically one ton per hectare for the region under analysis,” he said.
Bassi added that grasses increased their frequency in rotations from 36% to 62%, improving the carbon contribution to the soil by 6%.
“If we manage to sustain these managements, it could improve the soil carbon balance and, in this way, put Argentine agriculture on the path of sustainability”, defined Bassi.
Competition with soy
The harvest of corn for the 2018/2020 season, destined for commercial grain, culminated in a production of 50 million tons, barely surpassing soybeans (for the first time since the 1996/1997 cycle), which collected 49.6 million tons. tons.
According to the Weekly Agricultural Outlook of the Buenos Aires Cereal Exchange, there were only losses of 180,000 hectares in the entire country. The national average yield was 81.7 quintals per hectare, even below the value of the previous season: yields in the 2018/19 season: 83.1 Q / H.
Regarding the current campaign (2020/2021), during the last days the incorporation of late corn frames for commercial grain began.
The greatest advances were made in the center of the agricultural area, in lots with good surface humidity as a result of the rains registered at the end of October.
This week, 35% of the projection for the 2020/21 campaign of 6.3 M / H was sown. This area represents, in absolute numbers, 200,000 hectares less than those implanted in the previous season (2019/20: 6.5 M / H).
The rains that have taken place have made it possible to start the late planting of corn in the center of the country. It is expected to run through the end of January to come, along with early planting in the NOA and NEA regions.
On the province of Córdoba, the sowing of late summer cereal crops began. In the western areas of Buenos Aires-north of La Pampa, the Salado Basin and the center of Buenos Aires, the plots maintain a good hydric and cultivation condition. Even to the south of the agricultural area the first refertilizations began to take place.
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