36 Like Us on Facebook: BetterFarmingON Better Farming | June/July 2024 cide will reduce the recovery time and usually adds to the yield by shortening tissue recovery time should climatic conditions cause any ill effect. Another application from my experience is including products designed to reduce stress ethylene when included in fungicide application. Products derived from seaweed extracts have been shown to enhance yield response in corn at VT to R1 growth stage timing of fungicide applications. It’s important to note that some biostimulants are biological and made of various bacteria strains. These products are a bit of a departure from normal inputs insofar as they are living entities (similar to soybean inoculant). These are manufactured under strict conditions, packaged, and delivered with consideration for the environmental conditions that favour their survival. The supply chain at each point of transfer must understand this and deliver a viable product. Once at the farm, the care does not stop; the manufacturer’s requirements for proper use need to be heeded. The shelf life of these products varies considerably. Understand what you are buying and how to use it. Most sales terms are final with no returns. Order what you need, when you need it, and then do your best to use it. There are some companies promoting a reduction in commercial fertilizer rates when using their products. I am sure this is appealing to a lot of farmers. We need to proceed with caution. If the product does enhance plant performance and you reduce the nutrient applications, the crop is at risk of being short of nutrients. Of course it will depend on the soil test levels. If you are going to try this approach, I suggest that a lower rate of nutrient application without a biostimulant be part of the treatment. That way you will know if you have been over-fertilizing all along. If this treatment yields the same as the full fertilizer rate, then the biostimulant may have offered little to no benefit. Shaving 20 pounds of nitrogen per acre might save $18 an acre. The cost of biostimulant could be in the $10 to $17 per acre range. The net savings might be $1 to $8 an acre. Assuming comparable yields, the farmer will decide if this is significant for their operation. Of course, if reducing the nutrient application rates and using a biostimulant increases yields above the normal fertility rate, that would be a big gain. The soil-applied PGPRs are designed to solubilize bound nutrients and help roots overcome disease to a point. There is some flexibility in their application, either on the seed, in the seed furrow at planting in a pop-up fertilizer and or impregnated on dry fertilizer. The longevity of these products varies: Some can be mixed in 28 per cent nitrogen and applied at side-dress timing with a shelf life of 12 months while others are sensitive to fertilizer salts and require the fertilizer to be diluted to extend viability. My experience has been that the yield gains are small in the order of one to three bushels per acre on corn. Some of the foliar applied bacteria are sensitive to chlorine in the water supply. As little as 1 ppm chlorine can reduce the viability of the bacteria. Tank mixing with some herbicides for ease may be a problem as some herbicides may contain a bactericide. While there is much excitement in the marketplace for using these products, it is prudent to ask yourself one question. “What problem am I try to solve?” Answer that, then look for a product, test plot data, or plan to generate your own, and spend time with knowledgeable, certified crop advisors to position it properly. BF crops: yield matter$ DALE COWAN Dale is agronomy strategy manager and senior agronomist for AGRIS Co-operative. He has been a regular contributor to Better Farming since its launch in 1999. CCA-ON, 4R NMS.
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