New Research Demonstrates Yield Advantage of Including Bio Crop Nutrition With Performance Fertilizer Applications
With current farm economy forecasts looking steady at best, farmers need to do everything they can to optimize each acre of land to meet their yield goals and get more out of their fertilizer investments. New research from The Mosaic Company demonstrates how farmers can do just that by adding PowerCoat®, an innovative Bio Crop Nutrition product, to fertilizer applications.
In fact, when applied to MicroEssentials® SZ® and Aspire®, two performance fertilizer products from Mosaic, PowerCoat increased corn yields by an average of 2.9 bushels per acre, compared to using the fertilizer alone, across 12 trial sites in six states during the 2023-2024 growing seasons .
PowerCoat is a Bio Crop Nutrition product formulated with proven strains of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) that improve nutrient utilization for greater plant growth and vigor. The select strains of Bacillus in PowerCoat produce organic acids and enzymes that improve the solubilization of dry fertilizer into plant-available forms, improving nutrient availability, uptake and utilization and helping to maximize the return on fertilizer investment (ROFI).
“Our research shows that PowerCoat can help get more of the nutrients in the soil into plants to support plant growth and health,” said Matt Sowder, Director of Field Solutions at The Mosaic Company. “By enhancing the availability of nutrients and the ability of plants to take them up from the root zone and use them, it’s possible to achieve higher yields and stronger returns without changing existing fertility programs.”
Proven Performance With Trusted Products
PowerCoat was tested alongside the two performance fertilizers from The Mosaic Company:
- MicroEssentials SZ – Delivers nitrogen, phosphorus, two forms of sulfur for season-long availability, and zinc, all in one uniform granule for even nutrient distribution.
- Aspire – Combines potassium with two forms of boron, supplying nutrition early and late in the season to match crop demand.
Trials followed local practices with nutrients applied at recommended rates: 80 lbs P2O5/ac as MicroEssentials SZ, 60 lbs K2O/ac as Aspire, and nitrogen split between preplant and sidedress. PowerCoat was applied as a coating at just 5 oz/acre to the preplant fertilizer.
The results were clear: When PowerCoat was applied with MicroEssentials and Aspire, corn yields were consistently higher across all 12 trial sites.
“Farmers want tools that are simple, reliable and profitable,” Sowder added. “For the cost of a bushel of corn per acre, PowerCoat is resulting in nearly a 3.6 to 1 return on investment. It’s been proven to boost the effectiveness and efficiency of proven products like MicroEssentials and Aspire, giving farmers another way to push yield and return on fertilizer investment (ROFI) on their acres.”
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