Bringing together practical information
This website brings together practical information, research and resources to support Tasmanian producers and industry improve fertiliser use and nutrient management practices. It provides access to guidance, tools and insights that can help inform on-farm decision-making across a range of agricultural systems.
Further information about Tasmanian fuel and fertiliser supply can be found on the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania website.
Nitrogen efficiency and management tips
- Work closely with your trusted advisor to determine the most cost-effective product and rate of fertiliser based upon nutrient content is important.
- Prioritise your soil testing program and precision apply nutrients accordingly - a decision to take a guestimate approach may cost you.
- Consider how legumes, green and living mulches can contribute to your system and its function.
- Manage your soil water to optimise availability of soil nutrients to the plant. Over or under-watering slows nutrient cycling and availability to root systems.
Remember the 4R principles
Right source: Select the right type of fertiliser to match your nutrient needs and soil characteristics. This includes considering naturally available nutrients and synthetic forms.
Right rate: Apply the correct amount of nutrients based on soil nutrient supply, plant demand, and expected/ target yield. This also helps to reduce costly losses.
Right Time: Time applications to coincide with periods of peak plant nutrient uptake. This reduces losses from leaching, runoff, or volatilization and improves nutrient availability when the plant needs it most. For horticulture crops, there are also crop quality considerations when timing nitrogen applications.
Right Place: Apply fertiliser where it is most needed within your system to maintain soil fertility and optimise production based upon soil and/or biomass testing.
More information about the 4R Principals.
Resources
This website brings together resources developed by TIA and the broader industry to support on-farm decision making when it comes to fertiliser use and management.
Tailored resources are listed below, and additional resources can be found at TIA Resources.
A guide to managing the orchard floor (PDF 2.3 MB). This publication provides information relating to the orchard floor and summarises the findings from the three-year Hort Innovation funded project AP19006 Improved Australian apple and pear orchards soil health & plant nutrition.
Strategic Irrigation and Nitrogen Assessment Tool (SINATA) for Apples (Excel 10.4 MB). SINATA provides a guide for advisors and growers on optimisation of irrigation and nitrogen application for the major apple-growing growing regions of Australia. The tool works at the block scale to determine water and nitrogen fertiliser needs based on local soil and climate conditions, tree age and anticipated crop yields.
User Guide: SINATA, this report provides a summary of how the SINATA model was developed and how it can be used.
Video: Testing SWAN Systems’ SINATA for Orchard Irrigation & Nitrogen Management. An overview of SWAN Systems, a web-based irrigation and nutrients planning, scheduling and management tool.
Video: Trial of SWAN Systems precision irrigation tool at Tingira (AP22003) – PIPS 4 Profit. Apple grower Jeremy Smart of Tingira shares his experience using the SWAN Systems precision irrigation and nutrient decision platform.
Article: Composts and mulches for young orchards – do they stack up?. Researchers at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture investigated which mulch treatments along the tree line can improve soil health and apple fruit quality.
Article: Homegrown soil carbon – soil carbon basics. This article discusses the why understanding soil carbon is fundamental to improving orchard soil health.
Video: mown-and-thrown mulches: how do different strategies stack-up? (AP22003) – PIPS 4 Profit. This video shows what research is underway through TIA as part of PIPS 4 Profit to evaluate the nutrient and economic value of using this practice.
Guideline: optimising nitrogen management in cherry orchards (PDF 2.5 MB). Optimising nitrogen (N) management allows efficient utilisation of resources, can improve returns for growers and minimise environmental harm.
Economic case study: Optimising nutrient management for improved productivity and fruit quality in cherries (PDF 1.6 MB). This case study details how cherry growers can use nitrogen more efficiently for a better financial outcome.
Factsheet: Principles for improved soil health and management (PDF 874.0 KB). This factsheet provides information on building and maintaining soil structure, organic matter and cover crops, and soil tests.
Webpage: Optimising Fertiliser Use - A New Demonstration Trial in North Motton. A Potato Link project to optimise fertiliser practices in potatoes by evaluating varying rates, timings (pre-spread, at planting, and top-dress), and approaches (crop sampling and conventional programs) to improve grower profitability and potato marketability.
Article: Nitrogen fertiliser price and supply: A good reason to look at legume cover crops . This article discusses the opportunity to introduce a legume cover crop to reduce reliance on nitrogen fertiliser.
Poster: Cover crops for Australian vegetable growers poster (PDF 2.4 MB). This double-sided A3 poster provides the starting point for growers choosing a cover crop for their farm by adapting the information on the table to suit their farm operations, climate and cover crop objective.
Poster & Calculator: Organic nitrogen - Rules of thumb .This rules of thumb poster has been developed to provide a general understanding of nitrogen (N) in soil and in the different organic inputs such as legume cover crops, compost, and manure. All numbers provided are approximate.
Calculator: Nitrogen in soil and organic matter calculator (Excel). Calculating the approximate amount of nitrogen and other key nutrients in soil to a specific depth can be useful for understanding how much nitrogen is available or can become available to crops, before adding nitrogen to the system.
Video: Input use efficiency - Potato, onion and vegetable nutrition. A discussion of nutrition in potatoes, onions and other vegetable crops in Tasmania, covering timing of application and aligning to crop growth stages, removal rates, monitoring and sampling, methods of application and nutrient function.
Online article: The cost of doing something. This article on Beef Central compares three strategies of fertiliser management in the 2026 context: doing nothing, fully maintaining inputs, or a targeted strategic spend.
Case studies: Optimising perennial pasture legumes (PDF 3.8 MB). Learnings and grower case studies from the 'Growing red meat productivity through the selection and establishment of perennial legumes' project that investigated perennial legume species that can successfully persist under low rainfall conditions to fill feed gaps, and improve tolerance and productivity under waterlogging.
Dairy HIGH2 (online webpage). This TIA research project had an aim to halve the amount of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser used on pasture-based dairy farms without compromising pasture or animal production. Resources include a monthly newsletter and video updates. The project is funded by Dairy Australia.
Case study: Dairy HIGH2 farmlet trial results (PDF 479.9 KB). This case study provides an overview of the trial to reduce nitrogen fertiliser while maintaining dairy farm productivity.
Fertsmart Nitrogen Pocket Guide (PDF 3.73 MB). This 32-page pocket guide supports dairy farmers to use nitrogen fertiliser effectively. It covers topics including pasture responses to nitrogen fertiliser, application rates and timing, types of fertilisers, reducing losses to the environment, and an economic assessment.
Video: TIA Future Forum: Nitrogen efficiency in dairy systems (YouTube). A 90-minute webinar hosted by the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) in collaboration with the Australian Association of Animal Sciences (AAAS) VIC/TAS branch. This event explored the critical topic of nitrogen use efficiency in farming systems: pasture based and intensive. The webinar explored fresh perspectives and practical solutions for sustainable livestock production.
Video: Nutrient distribution in paddocks (YouTube). Soil scientist Dr Bill Cotching explains the variation of soil nutrients around dairy farm paddocks.
Research article: Spatial variation of soil nutrients in dairy pasture paddocks . This research paper by Bill Cotching discussed spatial variation of soil nutrients in dairy pasture paddocks using samples from six commercial dairy farms in Tasmania.
Video: Variable rate application (YouTube). Luke Taylor from AgAssist discussed variable rate application , including a research project looking at nutrient transfer in irrigated dairy systems.
Events
Related events, such as field days, workshops and webinars, will be listed below when available.
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