Macérations :principles & recipes, by Stéphane Billotte
Plant macerations, also called fermented extracts or manures, are an additional lever to make fertilizer inputs more efficient, improve the biological life of the soil and obtain healthier plants to reduce fungicide load.
Stéphane Billotte is a farmer in Yonne in a field crops system. He has been practicing conservation agriculture for about fifteen years and has been converting to organic farming since 2018.
Interview given by AgroLeague to Stéphane Billotte, cereal grower in Yonne practicing no-till farming since 2004, who will talk to us about nettle manure macerations!
Recipe
Preparation process for nettle manure
- Harvest fresh nettles. Stéphane advises to keep the whole plants. “Crushing the nettles is not necessarily required because the active principles are mainly contained in the leaves. What we want is to enrich our mixture with active principles. When we crush the stems, we also release the stem juice. When we use the whole plant, only the leaves degrade and we remove the large straw stems. Avoid crushing them, it’s better.”
- Start fermentation: 100 kg of nettle for 1000 liters of water (10% rule for manufacturing and application). Caution: do not use chlorinated tap water. If possible, raise the temperature to 30°C in the container to speed up the process.
- It is possible to add molasses with amino acids to boost fermentation (2.5 L/1000 L MAX).
- At MAX 30°C, 4 or 5 days of fermentation are sufficient. No need to oxygenate the water, this is not an aerated compost tea. We do not seek an aerobic environment.
- Filter and store in containers protected from light.
How to integrate macerations into the crop itinerary for field crops?
Typical itinerary: 3 applications to achieve maximum positive effects.
1 - Coating
You can start using macerations by seed coating to increase initial vigor and thus germination rate.
Dose: 1L per quintal of seeds pure.
“You can disinfect with vinegar or hydrogen peroxide before coating to avoid the presence of pathogens from the start.” Stéphane recommends doing a germination test: put the seeds in a closed jar with sand and water. If a pathogen is present, it will show up during germination. If no fungal development is observed, there is not necessarily a need to treat the seeds.
Three years ago, when he lacked seeds for his organic soybean sowing, he had to get some from a local farmer. All other conditions being equal, he observed poor emergence of these seeds. So he did a germination test comparing a control with pure seeds and seeds coated with maceration. “Without maceration, nothing germinated due to the presence of a pathogen. With maceration, emergence was 70%. The maceration limited the impact of the pathogen.” Caution if you decide to disinfect with these products, bad practices can lead to poor experiences.
2 - 3-leaf stage (autumn)
Apply 10 to 12 days after weed control: 5 liters of nettle manure and 5 liters of comfrey maceration to target soil effects. Caution: do not mix the maceration with any synthetic product. Always wait 10 to 12 days after intervention before applying macerations. Soil temperature > 9°C.
“Each application of synthetic product will have an oxidizing effect on the crops. You cannot give a boost to the plant while it is defending itself, it can exhaust it. You really have to wait 10 to 12 days after intervention to apply the maceration. In organic, or if no intervention follows, it is possible to apply the maceration a little earlier (1 or 2 leaf stage).”
A healthy plant has a certain RedOx balance. Applications of synthetic products tend to oxidize the plant and thus stress it. “A sick plant itself tries to oxidize to defend against disease by overoxidation. A fungicide will oxidize the plant quite violently. To return to its homeostasis state, the plant will pass through a ‘disease’ state if expressed in a millivolt gradient chart. It’s a vicious circle if you have a disease and apply a fungicide. Applying antioxidants 12 days after intervention helps the plant return to homeostasis. There will therefore be less chance the plant falls ill again.”
Stéphane does not recommend applying before sowing because an autumn weed control follows, regardless of the implantation technique. “Even a very low dose application will stress the plant. I remember a herbicide trial on rapeseed at 0.2 L/ha of Novall. Even there, we had flea beetle attacks across the field at cotyledon stage. We had to apply insecticide, while untreated control areas showed no insect presence.”
“If you only target soil effect in no-till farming (NT), it can be done before. It will affect straw degradation. However, a rainy period is needed for it to penetrate well into the soil if there is mulching. You can also add 0.5 L of whey (vitamin B12), especially in systems without livestock, to support humification effects. It’s a fairly simple and inexpensive way to integrate vitamin into the soil.”
For this application, Stéphane adds boron (sodium octaborate). Particularly soluble, it contributes by its balance and rapid assimilation to insect attack prevention. “We create health for the crop.”
3 - End of winter
Use the same ingredients. You must wait until the soil has warmed up a bit (9-10°C). “At the end of winter, if there has been no fungi attack on the crop, it can wait until the last leaf unfolded stage. If a dry period is expected, do not use nettle but burdock. Rich in potassium, it will help the plant regulate its stomata in relation to drought. Anticipating, we observed differences compared to nettle. If conditions are sufficiently moist, nettle manure will do.”
Even in well-supplied situations, Stéphane usually adds copper and manganese (10 to 15 g/ha each) to prevent ergot appearance. Up to 1 cm ear stage, this allows good valorization of ear formation. He also reapplies sodium octaborate on crucifers and legumes. This depends on conditions, it is managed very precisely with sap analyses.
You can add molasses or humic and fulvic acids to multiply effects with natural products. Some essential oils can also be considered at a dose of 5 mL/ha, no more or the plant will be stressed.
“Application conditions are more important than plant stage. Maceration is a living product. Seeding microorganisms under poor conditions will have reduced effects.”
Trial results: impact on soil, plants, technical-economic results?
Results are based on 25 field trials.
Stéphane first noticed effects on his soil through analyses. “In no-till we gained 0.1% organic matter per year. On average, with macerations, despite slight soil disturbance because being organic, I have to do a pass to scalp before sowing, I have tripled this figure.”
He conducted a trial comparing a product supposed to boost the plant at the root level, costing €75/ha, with a nettle-comfrey maceration. Result: better aggregation, better soil life. Elements of a biologically functional soil were present. He saw a real difference with the control: “The spade would not go deeper than 3-4 cm.”
He spent several years in strict no-till. But staying in NT some years forced him to increase doses of herbicides or fertilizers, while slight soil tillage could solve the problem. Not dogmatic, Stéphane goes for the most economical and the most respectful of soil life. “Knowing that every agricultural intervention has effects, it’s always a matter of compromise. ”
Then, Stéphane observed a general yield increase using macerations. “Each time, compared to pure chemical modality, we observed a yield ceiling lift. Macerations helped the plant express its potential. It is a natural balance product.”
Comparison of wheat trials
- Control: 61.5 qx/ha.
- Modalities with 3 maceration applications: 67.5 qx/ha.
- Modalities with fungicide applications: 67 qx/ha.
- Modalities where a fungicide pass was deemed useful then maceration applied 12 days after: 68 qx/ha.
Summary of trials on high potential wheat
- Control: 92 qx/ha.
- Modalities with maceration application: 116 qx/ha (not only reserved for low potentials).
Thank you to Agroleague for reposting the video.
