Fertasa Soil Fertility And Plant Nutrition Symposium 28 September 2023

CSIR INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE PRETORIA

PLANT NUTRITION: NEW DIMENSIONS IN TECHNOLOGICAL AND AGRONOMICAL ADVANCES

 

Do not miss this opportunity to personally meet these internationally respected experts!!!!!

THE SPECIFIC TOPICS PRESENTED ARE ONLY THE VERY TIP OF THE ICEBERG OF THE SPEAKERS’ KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE.

The panel discussion will certainly not be limited to the specific presentations. Look at the CV’s of the speakers.

A very important issue at the moment is Boron fertilization.

As you will see Dr Bornman is going to look at research done in South Africa by Omnia Fertilizers.

Professor Brown is however also an authority on Boron and N management.

Doctor Everaert as well as Professor McLaughlin are also looking at slow release techniques for boron and other nutrients which will become increasingly important when  at contamination and efficiency aspects.

Phosphate has always been a relatively expensive nutrient, so it makes sense that slow-release P and recycling from waste containing Phosphate will be extremely important in future.

Stewardship will increasingly be demanded from the fertilizer industry.

 

 

 

Professor Patrick Brown

The 2021 IFA Norman Borlaug Plant Nutrition Award recipient is  Patrick Brown, Distinguished Professor at the Department of Plant Sciences, University of California-Davis, U.S., for his varied work that has tackled many of the key challenges threatening crop productivity, resource use, environmental degradation and climate change.

 

His research includes:

Apart from his presentation at this symposium emanating from:

● More recent focus on bio stimulants – a set of microbial and non-microbial compounds that can enhance the growth of crops when applied to seeds, plants or soil – which has contributed to the development of national and international regulations that have helped bring legitimacy to this expanding area of plant nutrition.

● Groundbreaking contributions to understanding of the function, uptake and transport of Boron, an essential nutrient for plants,

● A decade of the nitrogen ecosystem in orchards.

● In addition, Prof. Brown has developed widely used applied research and extension products. Since 2000, he has produced more than 200 applied articles, videos, presentations and guidelines for application of his research findings.

         

DOCTOR JACOBUS (KOOS) BORNMAN

 The 2023 Fertasa Gold Medal recipient is Koos Bornman for his lifelong contribution to the knowledge of plant nutrition and soil science in South Africa, he has also received the Following awards:

 

 During his studies, Dr Bornman specialized in soil chemistry, more specifically lime and phosphorus dynamics. He is the author and co-author of 25 scientific papers, more than 300 research reports, 5 book chapters and more than 1000 semi-scientific publications and formal presentations.

After devoting his career to enhance nutrient use efficiency his quest continues, where his primary focus areas as independent consultant are remote sensing, fertigation, sustainable farming, and bio stimulants.

 

 

Professor Michael McLaughlin

Professor McLaughlin is a Science Fellow in Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and a Research Professor in Soil Science at the Waite Campus of the University of Adelaide. He has more than 30 years of experience in soil fertility and plant nutrition research, covering more than three continents starting first in Africa, and then in Australia and southeast Asia.

Professor McLaughlin’s research is also characterized by the using of new methods to examine fertilizer behaviour and effectiveness, such as isotope tracing and dilution methods to determine the fate of added fertilizer and to benchmark improvements in crop nutrition effectiveness. His research now has a global impact and coverage through the establishment of The University of Adelaide Fertiliser Technology Research Centre.

Professor McLaughlin’s research is characterized by a focus on the fundamental mechanisms of fertilizer behaviour in soils and linking these to field observations to improve fertilizer effectiveness.

 

 

Doctor Maarten Everaert

Dr. Maarten Everaert developed an efficient new slow-release fertilizer that can be used to recycle phosphorous (P) in waste streams. Dr. Everaert’s research found that slow-release fertilizers, based on the properties of cheap and harmless layered double hydroxide materials, have the potential to increase P use efficiency, can reduce leaching and runoff losses of P in comparison with conventional soluble P and can be combined with sustainable P sourced from wastewater.

 

LONG-TERM RESEARCH STAY ABROAD

2022 Fertiliser Technology Research Centre (University of Adelaide, Australia) – 12 months

Everaert, M.; Duboc, O.; Willems, E.; Soja, G.; Pfeifer, C.; Van Velthoven, N.; de Oliveira-Silva, R.; Sakellariou, D.; Santner, J. Thermochemical processing of boron-impregnated cellulose insulation waste for upcycling to slow-release boron fertilizers. J Clean Prod. 2023, 399, 136684. (Citations: 0)

Everaert, M.; Andelkovic, I.; Smolders, E.; Degryse, F. Baird, R.; McLaughlin, M.J. Layered transition metal molybdates as new slow-release micronutrient fertilizer matrices for Zn, Cu and Mo. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2023, 62, 7859−7867. (Citations: 0)

 

 

Dr. Pauline Welikhe

Dr. Pauline Welikhe’s research has focused on evaluating phosphorus (P) losses in tile-drained agricultural systems that can help contribute to improved nutrient conservation practice recommendations. She developed environmental indices that can be routinely used to estimate the potential for P loss from fields and applied artificial intelligence to help model P input-output relationships in complex agricultural systems for which there is currently limited understanding.

Dr. Welikhe’s research has helped to show how to reduce phosphorus loss to the environment by moving from focusing on contemporary phosphorus sources only to prioritizing both contemporary and legacy phosphorus sources when determining best management practices. Dr. Welikhe is a Research Scientist at Phospholutions, a U.S.-based startup company.

 

Please contact candice@fertasa.co.za for registration details.