21 Story Idea? Email Paul.Nolan@Farms.com Better Farming | August 2024 Pyramid is designed to help farmers manage the complexity of crop management decisions by identifying and prioritizing those practices that will increase yield potential. Starting at the bottom are the basics of agronomy that must be managed, working from left to right, before you can advance to the next level. These include things like drainage, managing soil pH and basic fertility. With biologicals, all the “simple agronomy” practices must be implemented before you can gain the benefits of biologicals on the farm. Corteva recently acquired Stoller. A giant in the biological market. I recently had the chance to listen to agronomy talks about Stoller and what their vision is for stimulants. When we look at plant hormones, hormones control a lot of activity within the plant. During stressful times, different hormones regulate distinct functions within the plant. For example, during the critical pollination phase for corn, when ambient air temperatures are above 28 C for extended periods of time, hormones can change, which can lead to degradation in kernel set. The two weeks before and after pollination are the most critical. Most losses occur due to drought/reduced moisture available to the plant. Studies have shown yield losses can be as much as three to five per cent – or even seven per cent – per day. Understanding how hormones regulate certain plant functions allows us to supplement the hormones at the right rate and the right time to supercharge the plant to ensure the hormones are kept in balance. An example of this is a product called X-Cyte. X-Cyte contains cytokinins, which are active hormones that enhance fruit formation/seed production. During hot periods, cytokinin production is reduced in the plant, which leads to higher rates of seed abortion. In-crop application to increase cytokinin levels within the plant will help reduce seed abortion. The wonderful thing about using bio-stimulants is that depending on what Mother Nature throws at us, we can react by applying a specific stimulant to help reduce plant stress and keep the plant functioning in top gear to make a bigger factory or ensure seed-set is not disrupted. Back to the X-Cyte example. If the two-week forecast around pollination time is for air temperature to be above 30 C with hot and humid conditions, then we could prescribe an application to help reduce stress, keeping hormones in check for this period. These products could be tankBENEFICIAL BIOLOGICALS ABA ETH GA CYT IBA, IAA Abscisic Acid • Stomatal regulation • Seed dormancy • Promotes ripening Ethylene (the stress hormone) • Promotes ripening • Promotes Abscission • Stimulates aging • Gaseous form Auxin • Lateral root development • Flower and fruit development • Activates and directs sugar movement Cytokinin • Cell division • Controls apical dominance • Above ground branching/growth • Flower di erentiation • Sugar transport • Promotes chlorophyll synthesis • Promotes stomata opening Gibberellin • Cell elongation • Induces germination • Fruit sizing • Decrease chlorophyll degradation • Increase the pollen grain fertility Foliar Feed/Micros Fungicide B/Mn Hybrid/ Variety/ Planter Pass Nitrogen Sulfur/Zinc Drainage Soil pH Potassium Phosphorus ARE YOUR SOIL TEST RESULTS AT OR ABOVE OPTIMUM? Optimum Ranges* pH 6.5-68 P Bicarb 20 ppm K 120 ppm OMAFRA Req’s Complete each layer from left to right then move up one! Courtesy of Pioneer Courtesy of Pioneer PLANT HORMONES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS
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