Fred the Farmer Fred farms in central Scotland. His main cash crop is wheat. Fred’s farm is in an area where rainfall is high and the soil is acidic.

Fred the Farmer Last year was not a good year for Fred and his crop yield was low. His wheat plants had fewer leaves than normal and some of the older leaves were yellow in colour. Also, when he checked the roots he found that they were purple in colour and showing signs of rot.

Fred the Farmer Fred needs to make sure that his crop is more successful this year. Last year was terribly wet and, of course, he does not know what the weather will be like this year. He knows that his soil can easily become water-logged and he does not want to cause eutrophication in the loch nearby . Fred prefers organic solutions and is taking advice from this web-site before he decides what to do. http://www.farm-wise.co.uk/fertiliser_recommendations.html

Advice for Fred: Another photo of Fred Fred the Farmer Your job is to give try to work out what advice Fred should be given. You will need to think about the climate, the soil (pH, soil crumbs, water content), the crop, and the best fertiliser mix (NPK). You need to check the reasons for problems he had last year and consider Fred’s preferences and concerns. Advice for Fred: Another photo of Fred

Risa the Rice Farmer Risa lives in Indonesia on the island of Java and she grows rice close to her village. If she has a good year she will be able to harvest 3 rice crops per year. rice padi

Risa the Rice Farmer Risa’s field is in an area where the soil is quite rich in minerals because of volcanic eruptions in the past. Risa needs to try to make sure the yield of rice is high but she does not want to use more fertiliser than she needs to as it is so expensive. Last year she had a lot of damage of her crop from insect pests and she knows that the soil in her padi is low in potassium.

This website might help Risa. http://webapps.irri.org/nm/id/_0js.php Risa the Rice Farmer Getting 3 rice crops this year is essential to Risa but she knows that she could have a problem with low nitrogen levels in the soil. Before she makes all her plans she will be considering all the alternatives and taking advise. She might try growing mung beans in the dry season – that has been good in the past. Germinating mung beans This website might help Risa. http://webapps.irri.org/nm/id/_0js.php

Risa the Rice Farmer Advice for Risa Your job is to list all the factors which Risa needs to consider. You will need to think about the type of soil she has; why she might have had problems with insect pests; why she might grow mung beans; what strain 3 rice crops might put on her soil and the costs of fertilisers. What might be the best fertiliser mix (NPK)? Advice for Risa

Hermione the Horticulturalist Hermione is a Horticulturalist and she works for ‘Fresh-Grow’ near Dundee in Scotland. Their main commercial crop is tomatoes which they grow in huge poly-tunnels

Hermione the Horticulturalist If Fresh-Grow are going to be successful Hermione has to make sure that she gets maximum yield with minimum costs. Last season Hermione had a problem with greenback, a disease which causes the fruit to remain hard and unripe. Fertilisers high in potassium help to control greenback but too much potassium can cause blossom-end rot. There was also an outbreak of red spider mite which caused no end of problems.

Hermione the Horticulturalist Hermione knows she needs to fertilise her tomatoes but she needs to get it right. Changing the variety of tomato she plants to ‘Shirley’ might help to control greenback but her customers might not like that variety so much. Too little nitrogen will cause low yield and too much causes the leaves to grow more than the fruit. The spider mites are also an issue and Hermione is interested in trying ‘biological’ control. This website might help Hermione http://www.defenders.co.uk/pest-problems/red-spider-mite.html

Hermione the Horticulturalist Your job is to consider all the things which Hermione has to think about and come up with a list of what should be in her fertiliser and some of the other things she needs to take into consideration. For example what should she do about the pests and diseases? Advice for Hermione