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Photocatalysis breaks down nitrous oxide and turns it into an essential crop nutrient.
While the new government is sure to “tinker” with the previous administration’s emissions policy, a recent visit to New Zealand by a group of ten UK-based technology companies, highlighted where things might be heading.
Lincoln-based – the one in the UK – Crop Intellect certainly got ears twitching, by claiming its technology lets crops turn pollution into fertiliser. This is achieved by using a new technology that captures air pollution and uses sunlight to convert it into nitrate on the leaf surface of a crop.
Called R-Leaf, a process known as photocatalysis breaks down nitrous oxide and turns it into an essential crop nutrient. This offers the potential to reduce farm emissions and ultimately, the industry’s reliance on synthetic nitrogen.
Against a background of rollercoaster fertiliser markets and environmental concerns, with the promise of more volatility still to come in the case of the former. The technology is being promoted as a development that will allow farmers to make better use of nitrogen fertiliser, while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its use.
Classed as a fertiliser, R-Leaf is based on titanium dioxide and comes in a liquid formulation that also contains manganese, molybdenum and zinc. It can be applied through a standard farm sprayer to crop foliage, either on its own or as part of a tank mix. Once applied, it uses sunlight to convert atmospheric nitrous oxide into nitrate, which the company says helps to provide the plant with a constant supply of the nutrient.
The patented photocatalyst technology contained in R-Leaf has been designed to work under normal daylight conditions, rather than needing high intensity light usually associated with such chemical reactions, This allows it to react with nitrous oxide in field conditions, breaking the pollutant down in to nitrate, carbon dioxide and water – all of which are required by the plant.
Jeremy Hitcham, commercial manager at Crop Intellect, says the R-Leaf is a significant development for the industry’s net-zero ambitions, not only helping to improve nutrient use efficiency on farms.
“It also has a role in reducing air pollution. In the future, its use should allow carbon credits to be produced, so that they can be monetised if required.”
R-Leaf’s potential to contribute towards reducing climate change has been validated at 5.4t/ha of carbon dioxide equivalent when used at a rate of 2 litres/ha, with verification coming from Climate Impact Forecast tool.
Hitcham suggests there are two ways in which R-Leaf can be used on-farm. The first to reduce bagged nitrogen usage by 25% and let R-Leaf provide the rest, so that yields are maintained. The second is to maintain normal farm practice and apply the same amount of nitrogen, with R-Leaf being used to provide additional yields.
Currently being applied to many thousands of hectares, R-Leaf currently costs £25/litre, with split applications of 2 litres/ha being recommended for cereals crops. Applications are made at growth stage T1 and T2, meaning a total cost of £50/ha.
The second application is needed because R-Leaf doesn’t move once it has been applied, so a growing plant producing new leaves benefits from the follow-up as older, treated leaves become shaded.
The product is included in Tesco’s largescale commercial trial on nitrogen fertiliser use. R-Leaf is one of eight alternative fertiliser products being tested by the supermarket, with early recognition in the form of an Agri T-Jam Award for Innovation.
Massey Ferguson has announced a strategic supply partnership with International Tractors Limited (ITL), a manufacturer of low-horsepower and compact tractors, with recognised brands such as Sonalika and Sollis, to expand its portfolio with a new tractor range.
With the biannual Italian EIMA machinery Expo less than a month away, Case IH has taken out a Technical Evolution award for the Advanced Vehicle Suspension system available on its Optum 360–440 series tractors.
The Advanced Vehicle Suspension system, available on Optum 360, 390, and 440 models, responds to changing conditions, automatically adjusting how the suspension reacts to absorbs shocks and controlling vehicle movement.
In operation, sensors monitor the vibrations transmitted from the tractor chassis to the operator cabin, allowing the system to adjust suspension damping in real time. The control system incorporates key priorities, such as comfort at lower speeds and stability as speed increases, while also reacting to factors such as lower tyre pressures, where the tyres absorb more of the initial shock.
Case IH said as suspension requirements change throughout the working day, as tractors move between the paddock and road transport, the system manages suspension response in the background as tasks, speeds and conditions change, leaving the operator without the need to make manual adjustments.
Richard Hollins, Optum series tractors global product manager, said: “Pioneering technology must earn its place in the working day. Farmers and contractors will judge an investment by what it delivers, including manageable ownership costs, dependable up-time and the versatility to tackle different jobs. With AVS, we are putting intelligent control to work for comfort and stability, without giving the operator another setting to manage.”
Organised by FederUnacoma, the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation, the contest has been part of EIMA since 1986, with the Technical Evolution distinction awarded to products that introduce original improvements to solutions already manufactured or patented.
www.caseih.com
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