The role of GrowGreen products in promoting wheat protein quality

Introduction

Covering more than 240 million hectares around the globe, wheat is grown on more land area than any other commercial crop. Being a staple food around the globe, ~21% of the world’s food depends on annual harvested wheat. When considering plant-based diets, wheat combined with maize and rice, provides two-thirds of human food consumption. Ranked third in terms of produced weight (Curtis et al 2002; USDA 2014).  732.9 million metric tons of wheat is estimated to be grown around the globe this year. With Australia expecting to produce 17,300,000 metric tons of that. Most wheat is consumed within the country where it is produced.World wheat trade (In 2011) is around 148 million metric tons (FAO) and Australia is one of the world’s biggest exporters. With an industry worth more than A$5 billion per year, wheat is Australia’s most valuable crop (Hochman et al 2019).

The current price for one tonne of standard quality wheat is $290 AUD/tonne (Indexmundi 2019), If suitably managed wheat grain can achieve a higher protein content which can provide a higher economical return (Devadas et al., 2014). The sale price of premium wheat (high protein content) is currently around $340 AUD/tonne (Aegic 2018). Wheat grain can be subject to economic losses, due to market rejection or downgrading due to poor grain quality (Parry et al., 1995; Goswami and Kistler, 2004). Crop diseases can be a significant cause of downgrading and market rejection (Dimmock and Gooding, 2002). For example, high levels of mycotoxins in wheat grain (caused by Fusarium fungal diseases) mean that the grain cannot legally be sold for human consumption but will be downgraded to cattle feed (ruminants are more resistant to mycotoxins) but at a reduced price (HGCA 2014). Crop diseases cause significant reductions in harvest and further financial losses from reduced quality (Hole et al., 2005; Godfrayet al., 2010).

Australia’s wheat yields more than trebled during the first 90 years of the 20th century but have stalled since 1990. This plateau is heavily correlated to the trends of climate change. Despite Poorer conditions for growing wheat, farmers have managed to improve farming practices and at least stabilise yields (Hochman et al 2019).  Ideally, high crop yields would need to be produced with minimal impact on the environment (Pimentel et al., 1997; Tilman, 1999). However, conventional farming practices often rely upon unsustainable external inputs. Soil is home to a diverse community of microbes responsible for nutrient cycling, providing available forms of key macro nutrients; nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium for crop uptake. Intensification of agricultural cropping systems in Australia today is reducing the fields soil microbiology diversity, which impacts crop nutrient availability.

The yields and economics return from wheat production will come under increasing pressure due to unsustainable farming practices?

GrowGreen’s comprehensive range of bio-fertilizer and bio-stimulant, are sustainable, microbially active, and marine based. GrowGreen’s products are packed with growth hormones (Microbe Plus™ Kelp, also available in organically certified formulations) and vital amino acids (Amino Kelp™ and Amino Elite™, also available in organically certified formulations), which encourage crop growth, improve access to nutrients (Higher available N drives protein production in the grain), and enables a higher stress tolerance of the plant.

A recent study performed by Plovdiv University (Bulgaria) on wheat crop found that GrowGreen products produced greater yields in in both quality and quantity, beyond that of a conventional fertiliser. One of the highlights showed that It is possible to reduce N and improve yield by using GrowGreen applications. This increased profitability beyond conventional fertilisers as “Additional N applications are likely to reduce profitability as the costs are not offset by increasing yield”.Pacific seeds has had repeated success with a reduced (20%) planting (granular) fertiliser. To further examine the robustness of GrowGreen Products a trial was conducted by North Parkes Mine (NSW, Australia), using different GrowGreen products (Amino Elite and Microbe Plus Kelp) only applied at drilling (as compared to the previous trials where GrowGreen foliar applications were also used).

In this experiment we present the response of the wheat crop to GrowGreen products, and a cost analysis of those results.

Methods

The trial was conducted in the central west under intensive agricultural practice, where a typical rotation in the area is legumes-cereal-canola. On a predominantly loamy soil with a pH range of 5-7

This trial explored the use of Monoammonium phosphate (MAP – NH4H2PO4) and Urea in conjunction with the GrowGreen products Amino Elite and Microbe Plus Kelp applied at drilling, In a replicated test strip format, the trial consisted of a control which received no GrowGreen products, and two treatments with GrowGreen products applied at drilling, with the same fertiliser rate as the control and with a reduced fertiliser rate. Which is presented in table 1: Applications “at drilling” are split into 50% with the seed and 50% drilled (2.5mm) below the seed. An additional seasonal appropriate application of 100kg/Ha of urea was also applied.

Table 1 Control and treatments

Each treatment had multiple replications, with each replication being 1Ha, a schematic for illustration can be seen in figure 1. Unfortunately, in replicant row 4 a significant area of the test was missing due to adrilling/Spray error, which resulted in a noticeably different outcome when compared to the two remaining replicates of the same treatment. The rows compromised results was therefore removed from cost analysis, however the other two replications were considered.

GrowGreentrial results

Wheat was harvested and the protein in the grain was analysed the results can be seen in table 2

Table 2 yield and protein content of the wheat grain from the control and two GrowGreen treatments.

Whilst yield remains similar through the treatments, there is a general trend of increased protein concentration for both treatments using GrowGreen products, this is better highlighted in figure 2.This increase in Protein, is achieved with only the addition of GrowGreen products at drilling.

Figure 2 Protein content for each replication of the control and GrowGreen treatments

Intensive conventional agriculture has maintained yields;however it is unsustainable, and has posed severe environmental problems (Pimentel et al., 1995; Hole et al., 2005). A key impact of intensive agriculture is on soil microbe diversity. A large selection of scientific studies show that various microbes enhance plant productivity and reduce susceptibility to pathogens. GrowGreen products can provide this higher protein content, by boosting nutrient cycling.

GrowGreen’s sustainable products provide crop essential nutrients along with plant growth promoting (PGP) bacteria which are known to benefit nutrient cycling (and thus nutrient availability) by improving the quantity and diversity of microorganisms in the soil.

Additionally  PGP bacteria can aid in the plant’s pathogen defence through the production of antibiotics and anti-fungal metabolites, and aid in the production of plant growth hormones and amino acids(a variety of which are already included in GrowGreen products), (Pereg and McMillan 2015). The more crop available nitrogen the more grain protein that can be produced, however just applying extra N on the field is not cost effective and it will invite lodging.

GrowGreen’s advanced products, offer a sustainable cost-effective way to increase grain protein;

Economic benefit assessment

A summary of the production cost per treatment can be seen in table 3.

Table 3 cost of production for control, treatment 1 and treatment 2 per Ha. Price for Urea $550 AUD/tonne, Price for MAP $700 AUD/tonne, Cost of application $30 AUD/ha, Price Amino Elite $  5 AUD/l, M+Kelp $  3.9 AUD/l.

Table 3 highlights that the GrowGreen application considered in Treatment 2 would only cost  $1.4 AUD per Ha extra, which is less than 1% of the overall production costs.

If we refer back to Table 2 we see that Treatment 2 results in a noticeable boost to protein concentration.

Table 4 considers what the benefits and losses would be if the increase of grain protein provided by GrowGreen products allowed the grain to be sold for premium prices (340$A) rather than the standard price (290$A) at 1 HA wheat

Table 4 Cost benefit analysis for averaged treatments of 1HA trials. Standard grain price $290 AUD/tonne (Indexmundi 2019); premium grain price $340 AUD/tonne (Aegic 2018).

The financial benefits for 1HA areas are clear in table 4. If we consider that on a 10 Ha field scale, a boost to protein content provided by GrowGreen products, costs as little as $14 AUD. This cost would already recuperated if we only consider the boosted yield quantity. When we consider the quality boost, both GrowGreen treatments provide a noticeable increase in the Protein concentration. Treatment 2 provides more than 0.5% more protein content, this could be the difference in being able to sell the wheat grain for the premium price or not. GrowGreen recommends Treatment method 1 in the first year, and Treatment 2 method in the following years of using GrowGreen products.

The initial outlay of $14 for your 10 Ha field could end up saving you over $ 2,300AUD, and that is just for the one field.

GrowGreen products have a further benefit in crop protection, they increase a plant’s tolerance to a pest by reducing the amount of energy a crop needs to spend on growth and translocation of nutrients, alleviating the negative effects of abiotic plant stress (Colla et al 2017).

Crop protection products (i.e. fungicides) are a substantial cost to farmers. This trial did not consider the cost of crop protectants, but with a boosted crop resilience from a well fertilised crop protection costs would be reduced. Reducing the amount of required inputs will save both time and money, and subsequent labour and fuel costs

Summary

GrowGreen products provide economic benefits through increased protein content from application at drilling alone, costing less than 1% of the grain production. GrowGreen products are an economically viable initial cost which provide financial benefits to grain sale.

Increasing crop yields, rather than clearing more land for food production, is the most sustainable path for food security. With the world’s population estimated to reach 9 billion by 2050, sustainable approaches to increase crop yield are a necessity. Food production needs to increase by at least 60% by 2050 to meet this.

High quality wheat production is crucial. Globally wheat is the most important grain food source for human consumption. Two-thirds of exported wheat grain are imported into developing countries. Increases in production could provide food security to the ∼870 million now chronically undernourished. The world needs to begin to greatly increase agricultural productivity, and to do so in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.

GrowGreens products encourage healthy crop growth through multiple mechanisms, allowing for a more resilient high-quality crop.They are economically viable, and environmentally friendly.

References

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Pereg, L. and McMillan, M., 2015. Scoping the potential uses of beneficial microorganisms for increasing productivity in cotton cropping systems. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 80, pp.349-358.Pimentel, D., Wilson, C.,

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