Liquid and solid natural fertilisers (farmyard manure, bird manure, liquid manure, slurry) can be applied at the times indicated in the table below.

Terms of fertiliser application (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 243, point 1.3., table 2.)

The periods specified in the table above for arable land, arable land in municipalities included in the list constituting Annex No. 2 to the Programme and arable land in municipalities included in the list constituting Annex No. 3 to the Programme (Journal of Laws 2018, item 1339) do not apply to those who will establish crops in autumn after late-harvested forecrops, sugar beet, maize or late vegetables. The permissible rate of nitrogen in compound fertilisers for the crops must not exceed 30 kg N/ha. The date of harvest, the date of fertiliser application, the fertilisers applied and their rate and the date of sowing of the autumn crop must be documented in detail.

The periods defined in the table above for arable land, arable land in municipalities included in the list attached as Annex 2 to the Programme and arable land in municipalities included in the list attached as Annex 3 to the Programme (Journal of Laws 2018, item 1339) do not apply to entities that could not harvest or fertilise due to adverse weather conditions, in particular excessive soil moisture. For these entities, the cut-off date for the application of fertilisers is 30 November.

The dates set out in the table above do not apply to the fertilisation of crops under cover and container crops.

The starting date for fertiliser application specified in Table 2 does not apply in 2020 for arable land with winter crops, permanent crops, perennial crops, and permanent grassland. The starting date for fertiliser application in 2020 shall be 15 February.

No fertilisation shall be applied on set-aside soils (fallow land). Fertiliser application in autumn is permitted before the planned end of set-aside.

In addition, natural fertilisers may not be used:

• on waterlogged, snow-covered, or frozen soils to a depth of 30 cm, and during rainfall,
• liquid manure (slurry, liquid manure) on soils without plant cover, situated on slopes exceeding 10 percent,
• liquid manure (slurry, liquid manure) during the vegetation of plants intended for direct human consumption.

The best time for natural fertiliser application is autumn. Then – by spring – the manure will have decomposed well in the soil, provided, of course, that there are favourable moisture conditions. In spring, you can apply manure and bird manure but in smaller doses, in a well-digested form, because if not decomposed, it can hinder the germination of plants. The total rate of natural solid fertilisers is best applied in the autumn, under the winter ploughing. In spring, slurry and manure are recommended for pre-sowing fertilisation of plants.

Both liquid manure and slurry have very different effects from farmyard manure and bird manure. Their fertilising effect is much faster than that of solid fertilisers because most of the fertilising substances are in mineral form. The nitrogen from these liquid manures is, therefore, better utilised than from solid manures. However, it should be taken into account that there is a high nitrogen loss in the form of ammonia when using natural fertilisers. Therefore, they should preferably be applied by direct injection into the soil, and in the case of surface application, they should be quickly covered with soil. Phosphorus and potassium in the slurry are as available to plants as from mineral fertilisers. The same applies to potassium from liquid manure.

Relevant information:

Do not apply slurry and manure on fields without plant cover, located on slopes greater than 10%.

Do not apply fertilisers except for slurry and liquid manure within 5 and 10 m respectively of lakes and reservoirs of up to 50 ha, watercourses, ditches, and canals.

Do not exceed an application rate of 170 kg N/ha in natural fertilisers (manure, liquid manure, slurry) per year.

Do not spread any fertiliser within 20 metres of lakes and reservoirs over 50 ha, water intakes, and the coastal sea strip.