Model and demonstration project for the use of NIRS sensors to quantify nutrients in liquid farm fertilisers

Contents and goals

The goal of the project is to use near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) to improve the determination of nutrients in liquid fertilisers, thereby achieving a more precise application. The idea is to promote the exchange of nutrients between farms and minimise the amount of documentation required.

To avoid over or under-fertilisation, the available nutrients must be applied efficiently and in line with requirements. The basis for this is a precise determination of the nutrients from different sources of farm manure.

The core content of the project is the precise determination of nutrients in farm fertilisers of different origins. The goal is to derive need-oriented fertiliser recommendations, which should also lead to a reduction in the use of mineral fertilisers. This should enable farmers to work more efficiently with heterogeneous fertilisers in their overall fertiliser management. Furthermore, the documentation effort is to be reduced in the case of inter-farm transfer of farm manure.

Task of the DLG

As the regional coordinator for the state of Saxony-Anhalt, the DLG's task is to support the farms in their requirements and to provide them with assistance. This includes visiting farms, sampling the various liquid fertilisers and evaluating and processing the sample results. The presentation of the project and its contents at various agricultural events, as well as the publication of specialist articles on this topic, are also part of the DLG's tasks as regional coordinator.