More Stress Solutions

Beyond micronutrients, companies continue to look for other tools to combat yield-robbing stress. Stoller USA introduced a new product this year called X-Cyte, which can be applied to all flowering or pollinating crops when the temperature exceeds the ideal for flower or pollen fertility. For corn, for instance, X-Cyte can be foliar-applied when tassels are first observed. The product helps increase levels of a key enzyme for pollination, invertase. Invertase production can be decreased by excessive heat.

Jerry Stoller, company CEO and founder, says Bio-Forge did a great job this season, increasing root growth and modulation of soybeans, and reducing plant stress. He says perhaps the most dramatic use of Bio-Forge was to correct plants that were damaged by herbicide injury. "This called more and more attention to the ability of Bio-Forge to reduce plant stress both from abiotic and biotic sources," he says.