N-FLOW

Product Overview
Some things just don't mix…

like liquid fertilisers and pesticides.

This can cause a host of issues and additional costs, but now there is an innovative solution - SACOA N-FLOW Fertiliser Treatment (N-FLOW).

What N-FLOW is: N-FLOW is a specially formulated suspension agent, designed to be added to liquid nitrogen formulations that are used as carrier solutions, such as CSBP's FLEXI-N®.

What N-FLOW does: N-FLOW eliminates problems that occur in liquid fertiliser and crop protection product tank mixes due to differing physical and chemical properties. The elimination of these problems allows for simultaneous application of liquid fertiliser and pesticide in a stable, homogeneous tank mixture (including where cold working conditions prevail ie, <10°C).

The Issue of Compatibility
Compatibility of liquid fertiliser-pesticide mixtures is essential to ensure trouble-free, accurate and uniform application.

However, pesticides may not always mix evenly with liquid fertilisers, particularly during cold temperatures, causing the components to separate quickly. To date, constant vigorous mechanical agitation has been the only way for farmers to attempt to use certain spray tank combinations.

Major reasons for liquid fertiliser - pesticide tank mix incompatibilities:

• Solution pH.
• Active salt types and concentration.
• Varying degrees of free ammonia in liquid fertiliser.
• Type and quality of the solvents used in emulsifiable.
• concentrate pesticide formulations.

Advantages
Advantages offered by N-FLOW include:

• Prepares the liquid fertiliser to ensure compatibility with additional tank mix components.
• Adjusts the pH of the liquid fertiliser solution to ensure that the pH of the final tank mix is neutral and therefore
  has no effect on active degradation.
• Effective across a wide range of fertiliser rates (ie, 30 - 140L/Ha)
• Assists pesticide product suspension
• Improves spray emulsion and stability
• Prevents lumping problems
• Reduces the requirement for retro-fitting of additional high volume agitation pumps

SACOA's N-FLOW solves your liquid fertiliser mixing issues.

Research Results
Visual testing With trifluralin
A simple jar test conducted with trifluralin and CSBP's FLEXI-N® highlights the immediate benefits that N-FLOW offers. Even after 60 minutes there was no visible stratification or separation of ingredients (ie, no decline in mix stability). This means that you can get the mix right in the tank and be confident it will still disperse evenly and effectively when you're in the paddock.

Whilst a single mix is unlikely to fail, it means multiple runs over the paddock.	Stratification occurs when the pesticide is mixed with the UAN.	N-FLOW corrects the incompatibility providing a stable, evenly dispersed mix.
trifluralin + water	trifluralin + Flexi-N	trifluralin + Flexi-N + N-FLOW

Note the even and stable dispersion provided when N-FLOW is added to the liquid fertiliser.

Crop Vigour and Yield
As well as being an effective mixing solution, recent independent research has shown N-FLOW to be safe to use for your wheat or canola crops.

This research was conducted by Agritech Crop research in wheat and canola crops and tested a number of popular Flexi-N - herbicide mixes. The results confirmed no effect on crop vigour or grain yield from using N-FLOW.

These trials allow you to use N-FLOW with confidence, knowing that it will work in the tank, in the paddock, and let you maximise your crop's yield.

Product Use
The information presented in this section is provided as a guide only and is not intended to take the place of the label directions. The term "compatibility", as used here, refers to chemical and physical compatibility only.

Herbicide labels provide information on compatibility, tank-mix combinations, and procedures for testing compatibility with other materials. Be sure to read the label.

Mixing Guide

• STEP 1: Start with a clean tank, 3/4 filled with the required amount of fertiliser solution (and water if diluting).
• STEP 2: Then add N-FLOW into the CSBP FLEXI-N® while continuing agitation.
• STEP 3 : Add the required amount of pesticide product while agitating vigorously. If different formulation types are to be mixed:
• (a) Add wettable powder first,
• (b) Dry flowables second,
• (c) Flowables third,
• (d) and finally EC liquid

Maintain constant agitation prior to and during spray application.

Precautions to Ensure Mix Success

• Always check multi component tank mixes for compatibility by making a small scale jar test before mixing in field.
• Vigorously agitate tank contents while mixing and applying.
• If using products packed in water-soluble film packets, slurry the herbicide in clean water before adding to the spray tank.
• Take extra care in applying herbicide-fluid fertiliser mixtures to ensure that all directions concerning application of the herbicide is followed.
• Sprayer output will not be the same using fluid fertiliser compared to using water as the carrier. Recalibrate sprayers for the fertiliser carrier.
• Don't apply herbicide/fluid fertiliser mixes over any crop except small grains, as injury may result.
• Individuals who use agricultural chemicals are responsible for ensuring that the intended use complies with current regulations and conforms to the product label(s).

For assistance, Contact CRT Kyneton

Recommended Rates
The following table provides recommended rates for N-FLOW to treat fertiliser when being used as a carrier for insecticides and pre-emergent herbicides.

IRRIGATOR

ABOUT SACOA IRRIGATOR
IIRRIGATOR is a specialty soil wetting agent for hydrophobic soils. The problem of water repellent soils is well known in Australia and particularly in Western Australia. Despite this, limited focus has been placed on finding a solution until recently. The use of furrow sowing techniques in combination with surfactants has been trialled for many years in the Western Australian wheat belt to improve crop and pasture germination. However yields have often fallen despite dramatic increases in the number of seeds germinated.

SACOA's partners have investigated a range of formulations to optimise yields and solve this issue. The result of this research is IRRIGATOR.

IIRRIGATOR's Advantages Over Traditional Soil Wetter's
IIRRIGATOR offers a number of advantages over other soil wetters. These include:

• Higher degradability than current soil wetters.
• Minimal leaching risk.
• Easier application, minimum water rates required – 15 – 50L/ha.
• Compatibility with certain nutrients such as trace elements and other crop protection products (NOTE: IRRIGATOR is not compatible with liquid urea eg, Flexi-N).
• Future potential: Investigation work is ongoing with other crop protection products including fertilisers, trace elements, biopesticides and fungicides.

The Issue of Hydrophobic Soils
Water repellent soils are poorly penetrated by opening autumn rains in Mediterranean climates such as in the WA wheat belt.

The causes:

• Hydrophobic organic waxes coat soil particles eg, from legume production;
• Low soil clay content (< 5%); Past native vegetation;
• Soil types with a high percentage of very fine soil particles ie, have an increased surface area.

Effects on crop establishment:

• Staggered germination;
• Poor crop and pasture seed germination;
• Diversional flow of fertiliser and herbicides.

Potential solutions:

• Claying provides an adequate long term solution but slow and costly;
• Furrow sowing assists in water harvesting;
• Addition of soil wetting agents such as SACOA's IRRIGATOR

An Overview of Surfactants and Band Spraying
The advantages of choosing the right surfactant for the right conditions include:

• Certain soil surfactants can help overcome hydrophobic soils.
• They can provide increased initial wetting and re-wetting.
• Improvement of crop establishment.
• Reduced evaporation.

Some Wetters Are Too Persistent In The Soil
Problems relating to persistence exist with some surfactant types, so always use sufficiently degradable products. One example is the horticultural style soil wetters that can be excessively persistent for broadacre applications.

Extended persistence in the soil can cause leach water soluble nutrients, longer-term yield reductions and reduction in micro herds (ie, beneficial soil microbes).

How IRRIGATOR Works
The application of IRRIGATOR involves minimal soil disturbance with precision sowing and spraying and it works from germination through to crop establishment. This process is illustrated in the diagram below.

Results of Field Trials
In recent independent field trials IRRIGATOR™ demonstrated significant yield increases over current commercially available soil wetters.

Yield results from no soil wetter, and a currently available horticultural soil wetter are illustrated in the graphs below for barley and lupins respectively.

Yield improvements around 700 kg/hectare were observed for barley and 600 kg/hectare for lupins compared to the base result.

Barley Results

Lupin results

Conclusions
The chemistry utilised in IRRIGATOR has resulted in yield improvements when tested on barley and lupin crops which indicates that IRRIGATOR may also improve yields of other broadacre crops.

The data shown in this research has been drawn from:
Blackwell, R.."Better Banded Wetting Agents and Surfactants for Non-Wetting Sands - GRDC PRoject DAW411",1999.

Visual Results After 29 Days
IRRIGATOR’s impact is even more evident as the crop matures. The image at right highlights the impact IRRIGATOR has in the wheat 29 days after treatment.

Without IRRIGATOR-----With IRRIGATOR

Product Use
It is recommended that SACOA IRRIGATOR is diluted in water and the solution applied to the soil by spraying.

The table below recommends application rates for broadacre cropping. Recommended rates are influenced by the severity of soil / water repellency so optimum use rates may need to be established through field trials.

• Cereals: can be dry or wet sown.
• Lupins, pasture species and canola: more suited for dry sowing.

IRRIGATOR X-TEND

Product Overview
Irrigator X-Tend is a concentrated formulation of the standard Irrigator Banding Soil wetter. Specially suited to furrow banding in extremely hydrophobic soils in low rainfall areas, Irrigator X-TEND is slower in bio-degrading than IRRIGATOR, and so lasts longer in the furrow directing rainfall toward the growing plant.

PERSIST 62

Product Overview
As a specialist adjuvant company SACOA is in a unique position to offer a range of innovative solutions to help manage soil water retention. These solutions cover both broadacre and horticultural applications.

SACOA’s PERSIST 62 Soil Wetter is a non-ionic soil wetter, spreader, penetrant for use with agricultural pesticides. As a traditional liquid soil wetter PERSIST 62 is suitable for both horticultural and broadacre applications.

Advantages
PERSIST 62 is particularly good for non-wetting soil in high rainfall areas, lasting much longer and hence offering an effective solution at a competitive price.

Product Use
PERSIST 62 can be used to slow the leaching of soil applied pesticides in a wide variety of crop situations. Contact
SACOA for more information.

Broadacre
Apply PERSIST 62 by a band spray technique through stream nozzles mounted behind press wheels. Nozzles should be sited as close to the ground as possible. The spray stream should be directed so that spray is applied to settled soil and not mixed with soil. Water rates should be 15-50 litres per Hectare. The lower rate is recommended.

Horticulture and Turf
Best results require irrigating treatment area prior to and after application. Wash material off leaf surfaces, as some plants are sensitive.