KAL.LI.S.TI: Site-specific maize fertilisation with variable nitrogen supply technology
The beneficial results of the KAL.LI.S.TI project, which concerns site-specific fertilisation of maize with variable nitrogen supply technology at high spatial distinction, were presented at the workshop held at the premises of the ‘THESGI’ Farmers’ Cooperative of Thessaly in Larissa.
The workshop took place in the context of the approved pilot project of the ‘KAL.LI.S.TI’ Operational Team, which is being implemented in the context of Measure 16 ‘Cooperation’ of the 2014-2022 Hellenic Rural Development Programme (RDP), on the initiative of the members of the ‘KAL.LI.S.TI’ Operational Team: the Goulandris Natural History Museum, the Institute of Industrial and Livestock Plants – ELGO Dimitra, the ‘THESGI’ Farmers’ Cooperative of Thessaly, GAIA EPICHEIREIN, and PRO DEPOT.
During the workshop, the producers were informed about the work being done to improve yields with the use of nitrogen through an integrated system of variable nitrogen supply in maize, as well as the RDP financing programmes and Measure 16 – ‘Cooperation’.
Vangelis Panagiotou, ‘THESGI’
The workshop was launched with an address from the vice president of THESGI, Vangelis Panagiotou, who, having welcomed the speakers and producers, referred to the positive results of the application of variable fertilisation in maize (one of the main crops produced by the cooperative). “The KAL.LI.S.TI project is one of the first we are implementing, in an effort to transfer knowledge to producers for better yield and results. I am certain that the discussion to follow will make us all wiser,” he said in his brief address.
Nikos Papakonstantinou, GAIA EPICHEIREIN
Nikos Papakonstantinou from GAIA EPICHEIREIN’s Department of Rural Development & Project management spoke about the Common Agricultural Policy, innovation and the new interventions of the CAP 2023-2027 SP.
Mr. Papakonstantinou set out the Interventions of Pillar 2 of CAP 2023-2027, which support the eight general interventions for climate and environment, investments, generational renewal in agriculture, cooperation, etc., while he also presented the main changes to the new CAP as compared to the 2014-2020 programming period.
Maria Korre, GAIA EPICHEIREIN
Maria Korre from GAIA EPICHEIREIN’s Directorate for Rural Development and Project Management provided information on the RDP’s Measure 16 ‘Cooperation’ and talked about the roles of the project members. More specifically, the Goulandris Natural History Museum coordinated the project and provided scientific supervision. THESGI secured the land parcels and the required recordings and actions for data extraction, while ELGO Dimitra took soil/foliage/fruit samples and carried out laboratory analysis. PRO DEPOT leased and calibrated the fertilisation and fertilisation-data-processing system, and GAIA EPICHEIREIN was responsible for coordinating the dissemination actions.
Stamatis Stamatiadis, project coordinator
The keynote speaker at the workshop was the director of the Soil Ecology Laboratory at the Goulandris Natural History Museum’s Gaia Centre and the coordinator of the KAL.LI.S.TI project, Dr. Stamatis Stamatiadis, who elaborated on the application of variable liquid fertilisation supply in maize (KAL.LI.S.TI project).
Using tables and maps, Dr. Stamatiadis presented the robotic fertilisation system – consisting of active sensors, a data processor, a controller, a flow circuit and a variable-dose distributor – the advantages of liquid fertilisation, the unlimited capabilities of the system, and the effects of surface fertilisation on three maize fields, including the benefits compared to conventional fertilisation. Regarding the economic analysis, he stressed that variable supply is economically advantageous, in part because uniform fertilisation by producers is excessive. He presented the following conclusions: Benefits of a variable supply system in terms of reliability, efficiency, and construction and maintenance costs. Producers can adopt this variable supply system – if it is so close to the economically optimal dose – in different fields and years. Project assessment is following the data stream and is expected to be completed in late 2024. The recent increase in fertiliser costs translates into benefits in the order of 15-20 euros/stremma greater than those of conventional fertilisation. The benefit assessment does not include the cost of technology and the availability of liquid fertilisers in Greece; neither does not take into account the environmental benefits that arise from the improvement of water, soil and air quality.
Lefteris Evangelou, ELGO-Dimitra
Dr. Lefteris Evangelou, executive researcher at the Institute of Industrial and Livestock Plants – ELGO Dimitra, spoke about the transition from conventional fertilisation to variable-flow fertilisation. Dr. Evangelou explained why the variable nitrogen supply is advantageous, noting that “the nitrogen needs of plants are differentiated at the boundaries of a field both spatially and temporally (year to year), the variable supply addresses the problem of spatial and temporal variation of soil fertility, aiming at more efficient nitrogen fertilisation of crops.
He then presented the necessary stages for the variable nitrogen supply and how this can significantly increase the efficiency of nitrogen fertilisation. He also analysed the impact of variable nitrogen supply on production costs and, in conclusion, stressed that “variable nitrogen supply can offer the potential to optimise the balance between yield, financial profit and environmental protection.”
The conference was attended by, among others, the regional advisor and president of the Pan-Hellenic Federation of Agricultural Workers, Dimitris Sofologis, Kileler municipal council member Giannis Zacharias, former Syriza MP and farmer Nikos Papadopoulos, and the former head of ELGO-Dimitra, Christos Tsantillas,
Producers were informed about improved yields with the use of nitrogen through an integrated variable supply system in maize, and about RDP financing programmes and Measure 16 – ‘Cooperation’
