EkoNiva Group, the largest milk producing holding in Russia, has announced the launch of spring fieldwork starting side dressing and harrowing in Voronezh oblast and fertiliser application in Kursk oblast.

All five production enterprises in Voronezh oblast are busy with fieldwork having over 18,000 ha of winter crops: wheat (2/3 of the area), rye, triticale and annual forage grasses. Monolith samples showed good crop condition. In Kursk oblast, the farm started side dressing the winter wheat, the total area of which makes 4,800 ha in the region.

The purpose of winter crop side dressing is to ensure enough nitrogen for the plants to boost the vegetation and make them stronger, which will ultimately improve the yields.

‘Before side dressing, our agronomists evaluate multiple parameters: for instance, the weather forecast for the next 7-10 days, plant survivability based on monolith regrowth, crop vegetation stage, sugar amount and so on. Pursuant to these data, we calculate the fertiliser amount required and the optimum application timing’, says Aleksandr Anpilov, Crop Production Director of EkoNiva Group.

As soon as the weather is right, the operations in other regions will also kick off the fieldwork, starting with side dressing of winter crops and proceeding to tillage before spring seeding.

EkoNiva Group is planning to harvest 465,000 ha across 13 regions of operation allocating over 190,000 for fodder crops, over 220,000 ha for cash crops (with 69,000 ha of winter crops) and over 40,000 ha for seed growing.