Getting the balance right between fertiliser application and nitrogen utilisation is vital for farmers growing crops – both from an environmental and economic perspective, according to a new factsheet published by Teagasc.

The factsheet – titled “Nitrate Leaching from Tillage Lands” – is one of five published by Teagasc as part of the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) this week.

Cereal crops have been traditionally sown on some of the better free draining soils in Ireland, the factsheet notes.

This surplus N is likely to be leached from the soil during periods of higher rainfall in autumn and winter.

The challenge in these fields is to ensure the tillage operations achieve maximum returns from applied fertiliser without having any negative impact on water quality.

Farmers can help reduce these losses by carefully managing fertiliser applications and targeted establishment of catch or cover crops, the ASSAP factsheet says.

Improved utilisation of chemical nitrogen by tillage crops will improve the financial return to the farmer but also reduce the risk to water quality.