Slurry enhancer increases mineral nitrogen and boosts forage yield
Ireland has been chosen as one of the first markets to commercially launch Actiglene, created by Groupe Roullier, 50% owner of Grassland Agro.
Grassland Agro managing director Liam Woulfe said: “Slurry has a real value, even though it is often referred to as a nuisance by farmers. It was the belief of the Roullier R&D team that they could develop a very beneficial slurry enhancer by combining various strands of microbacteria, marine calcium, seaweed extracts such as ascophram, and benign agro chemicals.”
Actiglene is to be spread on slats in the cattle housing period at a rate 0.5kg per livestock unit per week. It washes into the tank and mixes with the slurry, where an incubation, or slurry enhancement, process gets under way.
In trials of Actiglene as a slurry enhancer, carried out at the School of Chemistry, Rennes, France, mineral nitrogen, which can be used by the plant, is increased by up to 18%. The consequent increase in dry matter yield in forage harvested was at least 0.5 tonnes per hectare in good growing conditions, and up to one ton in an intensive three-cut situation.
If the normal N, P, K fertiliser treatment is applied along with Actiglene-treated slurry, the area to be harvested can be cut for the same dry matter production.
Ammonia emissions in Actiglene-treated slurry were reduced by 53% in trials. Lethal hydrogen sulphide was lowered in Actiglene-treated slurry 80% in trials.
There is very little build-up of crust in Actiglene-treated slurry, so there is a reduction in the slurry agitation requirement equivalent to at least three times the cost of the product.
Mr Woulfe said: “In our calculations, if all the slurry on the island of Ireland was treated with Actiglene and applied to land as per best practice, there would be a net benefit to all user farmers... of in excess of €50m per year.”
