YaraMila Complex (formerly called Hydro Complex) is an ideal basal fertiliser for a wide range of horticultural and vegetable crops.

According to Yara Australia agronomy and crop solutions manager David McRae, it has the ideal ratio of plant-available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium with secondary and micronutrients in a highly soluble compound prill.

“Delivering a correct balance of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is essential for optimum growth – and ultimately, crop yield and quality,” he said.

“Apart from applying the right quantities of nutrients, they need to be distributed evenly. To successfully achieve this, we must firstly consider what happens to a product during handling and application.”

YaraMila Complex is a compound prill which has good particle strength. It is not at risk of segregation during transport or handling – like blends, allowing it to be spread or banded evenly. This results in even nutrient application, supporting healthy crop growth.

Another key benefit of YaraMila Complex is that the prill size is smaller than most granular fertilisers,” Mr McRae said. “Smaller prills means there are more particles per spread area or landing sites, leading to improved nutrient distribution. The prills still have a high bulk density, allowing even application.”

The high solubility of YaraMila Complex allows rainfall, irrigation water or soil moisture to quickly release nutrients for plant uptake, supporting rapid growth.

Nitrogen is supplied as ammonium nitrate, which supports balanced plant nutrition and healthy growth. This is important as this form of nitrogen has a low potential of volatilisation losses (gaseous losses back to atmosphere).

Volatilisation losses can be high when surface-applying urea or sulphate of ammonia in the wrong conditions. These losses cost the growers through the need for higher rates of nitrogen and also have a negative impact on the environment.

Mr McRae said the phosphorus content in YaraMila Complex is presented as water-soluble orthophosphate, polyphosphate and P Extend. P Extend is consistently released over a 90-day period.

“The combination of these different forms of phosphorus ensures greater and longer-lasting availability to crops over a wide range of soil types,” Mr McRae said. “Polyphosphates improve the availability and uptake efficiency of phosphorus and other micronutrients.”

The polyphosphate effect is particularly important in supporting iron availability, which can be an issue on higher pH soils. Iron plays an important role in the production of energy, which drives growth.

The potassium source in YaraMila Complex is based on sulphate of potash (SOP), which is particularly important for crops with a low tolerance to chloride.

YaraMila Complex is a balanced combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (12-5-15), along with trace amounts of calcium, boron, iron, magnesium, manganese, sulphur and zinc.