There is an increasing use of spreaders for application of urea in the cotton industry. In fact 75% of growers apply granular fertiliser (eg Urea) pre-plant, at planting and in-crop up to flowering (CRDC Cotton Growing Practices 2016). However, a single pass of a broadcast spreader produces an uneven application. Overlapping the spread pattern can improve the uniformity, but the distance between machinery runs to provide the overlap (the bout width) cannot be determined accurately without proper testing.

Uneven application means that parts of the field are being under fertilised, while other parts are being over fertilised, often visible to the eye with a striping pattern across a crop. The performance testing and calibration of a fertiliser spreader is as important as the calibration of spray rigs.

The Australian Fertilisers Services Association and the Australian Fertiliser Industries FertCare initiative have developed Accu-Spread. This involves independent testing and accreditation of fertiliser spreading equipment. Following accreditation, a grower will know the capacity of the spreader to apply urea to industry standards. This means growers will have more confidence in applying an accurate rate, improving the efficiency of fertiliser use and avoiding the patchy, uneven patterns often visible from untested spreaders.

Darren Hart, Cotton Operations Manager, Keytah called CottonInfo to discuss the opportunity to hold a field day in the Moree region looking at spreader testing. He assisted with planning and reviewed the field day program, hosted the Moree Spreader field day and attended the second field day at Bellata.