Most frequently asked questions

General

Who are we?


In 2000 we set up in business under the name of Flex Fertilizer Systeem NL (FFSNL), a franchisee of Flex Fertilizer System International As. In the eleven years in which we worked as a franchisee we also developed our own ideas. We eventually decided to continue independently so as to be able to develop those ideas. 
 
Fertilization at an arable farm will in future involve a good deal more than simply buying fertilizers. It will also involve the complexity of sustainable soil management supported by the right products. Of primary importance are awareness and knowledge of your farm’s specific conditions and your aims. N-xt Fertilizers can help you in these matters.
 

 

What does the name ?N-xt? stand for?


The name ‘N-xt Fertilizers’ stands for 'the next generation of fertilizers’. It is pronounced 'next', but it is written ‘N-xt’ in accordance with our logo. The capital N stands for New, Next, (N) Nitrogen,  Nutrients ...

The right minerals in the cycle ensure efficient growth!

 

 

Are your N-xt fertilizers based on the same technology as the Flex Fertilizer System products?


The technology of complex compounds is entirely integrated in these new fertilizers. It has moreover been enhanced with in-house developments.   

Products

In what way do N-xt fertilizers differ from other liquid fertilizers (such as NTS and APP)?


Liquid for a reason! 

N-xt fertilizers are one of the few fertilizers based on complex compounds. Unlike all other fertilizers used in agriculture (both granular and other liquid fertilizers), our fertilizers have no salt-related properties. Our fertilizers behave far more like substances occurring naturally in the soil, and because of this they do not disturb the processes taking place in the soil. On the contrary, they can positively influence those processes, by supplementing the right shortages and supplying extra substances needed by the crops and the soil! This holds for the nitrogen, phosphate and trace elements contained in our fertilizers
(NB: other fertilizers often focus on only one element).
 
A brief description of other liquid fertilizers:

Urean

Urean is 50% ammonium nitrate and 50% urea. Generally speaking, more nitrogen in the form of Urean and urea is needed to supply the same amount of nitrogen to a crop. This is because about 8% of the nitrogen contained in Urean will volatilise in the form of ammonia and about 15% of the nitrogen contained in urea. These percentages rapidly increase at temperatures above 20°. As Urean and urea are not contained in a complex compound there are high risks of them burning foliage and of them being converted into ammonia by water at certain temperatures. That conversion will already take place in the spray tank, and it will certainly continue in the soil. The advantage of urea over Urean is that it also has few salt-related properties. 
 

APP

Ammonium polyphosphates (APPs) are very soluble in water. APPs also differ from other NP fertilizers in the form in which the phosphate is released. In the case of polyphosphates, the phosphate molecules have formed chains as a result of heating and evaporation. In the soil, polyphosphates will slowly decompose to form a phosphate that can be taken up by plants. The rate at which this takes place is influenced by such factors as soil structure, pH, temperature and organic matter content. International and Dutch research has so far however been unable to prove that APPs are any more effective than other NP fertilizers. It should also be borne in mind that all phosphates other than that contained in our fertilizers may very quickly be bound to metals (aluminium, iron, calcium, etc.) in the soil! 
 

Anasol

Anasol contains 11-15% nitrogen and 5-6% sulphur.  The Dutch fertilizer producer Gromes Plender in IJselmuiden makes a lot of use of this form. Anasol is a mixture of approximately 33% ammonium nitrate and 21% ammonium sulphate. This results in a nitrogen solution containing about 15% nitrogen. Application with a spoke wheel fertilizer results in small concentrations of the fertilizer in the soil. The increased concentration of ‘salts’ then often causes roots in the vicinity of the concentrations to burn. This also adversely affects soil life. And partly under the influence of soil processes the nitrogen will soon be converted into nitrate (because it is not protected), and leaching and accelerated absorption will then lead to negative (soil) processes.
 

NTS

NTS is a liquid fertilizer based on urea, ammonium nitrate and ammonium thiosulphate. This fertilizer involves a little less risk of losses in the form of ammonia than Urean. NTS is unstable because of the form of ammonium nitrate it contains, which has the same effect as CAN (only then in a liquid form). Part of the ammonium will be taken up in early spring, but when the temperatures begin to rise and soil life becomes active conversion to nitrate will take place and then it will be mainly nitrate that is taken up. We now know that that leads to negative processes resulting in poor protein molecules. 
 
NB: You may find all these different fertilizer names quite confusing. All you have to remember is that all the liquid fertilizers you will come across on the market (except N-xt) are combinations of the four fertilizers described above! 
 

 

Why is your N-xt foliar fertilizer so efficient?


Our N-xt fertilizer technology enables us to produce an extremely safe fertilizer for foliar fertilization too. Contrary to the roots of a plant, which take up only charged elements, the leaves can absorb only electrically neutral elements. That's why it is so important for the formulations of foliar fertilizers to remain neutral. An example: 
 
Manganese sulphate consists of positively charged manganese and negatively charged sulphate. So a plant's leaves cannot absorb them separately, but it can absorb them if they are bound together. At certain temperatures the cheaper sulphate foliar fertilizers tend to react with water fairly quickly to form two separate elements. That of course implies a low efficiency and absorption capacity.  
 
The manganese sulphate contained in the more expensive chelate foliar fertilizers has a different effect. Such fertilizers are based on a chemical carrier that encapsulates the manganese element so that it remains neutral and will not readily react, thus becoming positively charged. When such a chemical carrier has been taken up by the leaves it is, however, of no use to a plant, and so it is excreted. This of course has a negative effect on soil life (just like Entec, Piadin and such products).
 
The manganese sulphate contained in our N-xt foliar fertilizers is bound in a complex compound, which makes the formulation neutral and stable. On top of this, both the manganese and the sulphate serve as nutrients for the plant, and the nitrogen becomes available in the form of amide (our N-xt technology being based on urea). This is one of the reasons why spraying the leaves of a crop with N-xt fertilizers is a perfect form of nitrogen correction including trace elements in the growing season (see practical experiences).
 

 

Why have you always included trace elements in your fertilizers?


N-xt Fertilizers stands for fertilizers that work together with natural processes. Those processes take place in the soil, after which the results (nutrients) become available for plants. Your crop needs to absorb more than 42 nutrients to ensure a good yield and high quality. Considering how limited our NPK fertilization strategy of the past 50 years has been, you may very well have a shortage of various elements …
 
As you can read at our ‘Limiting minerals’ page, trace elements play a part in many interactions in the soil. We include many of those elements in our fertilizers not so much to compensate for deficiencies revealed by analyses, but because we know that those specific elements are needed for important processes (even if they are found to be present in analyses).
 
Important trace elements contained in all our fertilizers:
   • boron, zinc and sulphur in our soil fertilizers
   • calcium, magnesium and manganese in our foliar fertilizers
   • other elements such as copper, selenium, molybdenum, sodium, iron, etc. may also be           included.
 
 

 

What is the EC value of your N-xt fertilizers?


The EC value expresses the electric conductivity of materials in mS/cm.  The addition of salts or acids to water results in electric conductivity. Traditional fertilizers consist largely of salts. N-xt fertilizers on the contrary consist predominantly of acids, and those acids determine the EC. So the EC value of N-xt fertilizers cannot be directly compared with the EC values of traditional fertilizers because the fertilizers’ conductivity is realised in a different way.
 
Thanks to their unique chemical composition, our fertilizers have a lower EC value than most conventional fertilizers. Their EC values are between 0.5 and 0.6 mS/cm.
 

 

Why is zinc recommended for maize fertilization?


Zinc promotes the production of hormones, which in turn support root development. Zinc also makes a plant’s root system more permeable, resulting in better uptake of the required soil minerals. Maize is a subtropical plant that has difficulty with its initial development under cold conditions. This crop needs a good dose of phosphate to encourage good root development. But phosphate makes it difficult for the plant to take up zinc from the soil minerals. So farmers are often advised to include zinc in their initial fertilization to compensate for this. Maize ears that do not develop completely are a sign of zinc deficiency.  

Applications

Why must N-xt soil fertilizers preferably be applied in row fertilization?


Our N-xt fertilizers consist of complex urea compounds with the characteristic that they protect the minerals contained in the compound against soil influences. The aims are to ensure that the nitrogen will remain available in the form of ammonium for as long as possible and to prevent the risk of the phosphate being bound in the soil. This protection is more effective when the fertilizer is contained in the soil in a concentrated form. This is not the case with spraying, and the soil life will then too soon decompose the fertilizer, causing the complex compound to disappear. Generally speaking, the higher the pH of the soil, the sooner the protective effect will disappear, and the more important the concentration will be.  

See here pictures of practical application

 

Can the application of foliar fertilizers be combined with the use of crop-protection agents?


Combining our Folium N-xt foliar fertilizer with most crop-protection agents will not usually cause any problems, but beware in the following situations.
 
   • Don't make cocktails containing many different agents. The greater the number of agents         you mix together, the greater the risk of damage will be. 
   • Don't combine oil-containing agents with our Folium N-xt foliar fertilizers to avoid the risk           of them flowing to the edges of the leaves. 
   • If treatments can't be combined for the above reasons, wait for at least three days                       between the treatments to give your crop an opportunity to form a new layer of wax on its           leaves. Otherwise there will be a risk of the crop’s foliage burning due to a damaged wax         layer. 
   • Always spray in fine droplets using as little water as possible. The aim, after all, is for the         foliar fertilizer to end up on the leaves. Bright sunlight will cause no problems.
 

 

Does your N-xt foliar fertilizer involve any risk of the crop's foliage burning?


When used properly, our foliar fertilizers do not involve any risk of your crop's foliage burning. The risk will be lowest if the fertilizer can be used in a pure form, but that will unfortunately not always be possible because of the low doses. It will then have to be diluted with water. In such cases pay attention to the following aspects. 
 
   • The pH of the spray must not exceed 5.5. If you use tap water or other water with a pH of           6.0 or more you will have to acidify your spray. Various agents are available for this                     purpose, for example our N-xt FertiFix.
   • The EC of the water may not be too high. A high chlorine content may lead to damage. 
   • The water/fertilizer mixing ratio should preferably not exceed 3/1 to prevent the risk of the           spray running to the edges of the leaves. For this reason the crop must be dry during the           spraying and for at least 4-5 hours afterwards, so do not spray just before rain. Spraying           late in the evening followed by early dew the next morning may also result in the spray               running to the edges of the leaves, with the risk of the edges burning. 
 

 

Links

How do your fertilizers relate to the standards of the fertilization policy?


In this link you will find tables containing all the standards you will need to calculate what substances you may use in what quantities. Here you will also find surveys of crops with high nitrogen demands and bait plants, a table of conversion standards for pig and poultry units and tables showing when it is best to fertilize your soil.
 
 

 

Where can I have soil analyses carried out?


This link contains a list of companies where you can have soil analyses carried out (in The Netherlands). N-xt Fertilizers currently works together a lot with Soil Tech Solutions in Biezemortel (NL). Their analyses will provide a good impression of the basic condition of your soil and will serve as a good basis for strategic advice. For more information see our ‘Limiting minerals’ page. 
 
NB: these analyses are primarily intended to support you in sustainable soil management. For compliance with statutory fertilizer standards etc. you will (unfortunately) also need the analyses in your own country.
 

website of Soil Tech Solutions

website of BLGG AgroXpertus

 

 

Where do I find my nearest N-xt fertilizers adviser?


You will find a list of all our contacts, references and outlets at our 'Advice' page. Indicate the area in which you live via the filter on the left or search by town.