Biologicals Set Up Spring Planting Success
A profitable season begins with a prepared spring. Biologicals help growers maximize the yield potential of their crop genetics and fertility budgets while minimizing the impact of possible yield-reducing events like inclement weather or disease outbreak, starting from when it counts – this spring.
Three Ways Biologicals Set Your Spring Up for Success
Three essential biologicals – biofertilizers, biocontrols and biodigesters – give growers the tools they need to take a proactive approach to season-long crop performance, says Cliff Watrin, VP of Agronomy for DPH Biologicals, an Illinois-based biologicals manufacturer.
Locking in crop performance is even more critical when factors outside of grower’s control threaten to impact profitability. For 2023, corn and soybean cash receipts are expected to fall due to slipping crop prices while farm production expenses increase, resulting in declining farm incomes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service.
Biologicals work by harnessing natural solutions that unlock soil fertility, improve soil tilth and structure, fight off pathogens and stimulate plant growth and disease resiliency, Watrin explains. And even better yet, spring applications of biologicals pay off in season-long dividends.
“Traditional chemical solutions have an immediate but short-lived impact on a crop. Biologicals are unique. They establish on the plant and in the soil, growing with the crop. That equals season-long performance,” Watrin says.
1) Take Control of Your Fertility
DPH Biologicals’ TerraTrove™ SP-1 Classic® unlocks previously inaccessible soil nutrients maximizing existing and newly applied fertility.
SP-1 Classic is a complete liquid biofertilizer comprised of a diverse community of microbes, plant-based humus extracts and algae that work together to improve soil structure, increase nutrient availability and ultimately increase yield and profitability.
Growers can reliably replace up to 50% of their typical starter fertilizer with SP-1 Classic applied in-furrow without sacrificing performance and, in many cases, improve yield and per-acre profitability. Or, growers can use SP-1 Classic to enhance a full fertility budget. Third-party commercial trials of SP-1 Classic in corn fields across 17 locations resulted in a more than 70% win rate with an average yield increase of 5 bu/acre in high yield environments.
OMRI-certified and appropriate for organic and conventional production, SP-1 Classic is an easy-to-use liquid formulation that seamlessly integrates into broadacre practices via broadcast, in-furrow, foliar, drip or fertigation applications.
2) Stimulate Your Plants’ Natural Defenses
BellaTrove™ Companion® Maxx ST is a multi-action biofungicide seed treatment with two modes of action, directly fighting off pathogens and activating a plant’s natural immune response.
Companion Maxx ST is derived from DPH Biologicals’ proprietary strain of a plant-stimulating rhizobacterium offering broad-spectrum control of fungal and bacterial pathogens. Companion Maxx is listed for control of more than three dozen common crop diseases, including damping-off fungus and seedling blights and deters the pattern of pesticide resistance experienced with chemical fungicides.
In addition to the seed treatment formulation, Companion Maxx technology is available in a wettable powder (WP) formulation for in-season application.
Companion Maxx ST can be applied in a slurry, planter or hopper box. Companion Maxx WP is appropriate as a foliar or soil spray for field crops. The Companion Maxx products are EPA-registered and OMRI certified and are compatible with many other plant pesticides and nutrition products.
3) Turn Crop Stubble Trash into Treasure
TerraTrove Residuce® Complete rapidly decomposes post-harvest crop residue sinking nutrients into the soil and can be used this spring to prepare the soil for strong, uniform crop emergence.
Residuce is a liquid biodigester. It combines an industry-leading carrier with eight proprietary microbes specifically known to break down dead and decaying matter, including bulky crop residue like corn stover.
A single application of Residuce combined with a nutrient source accelerates the breakdown of tough organic residues by more than 11%, captures more carbon into the soil and delivers significantly increased N-P-K versus crop stubble managed through traditional plowing and tillage methods. Residuce works quickly for use in an early spring application or between a double-crop rotation.
Residuce is compatible with most crop protection and fertility programs. Tank-mix for spray application of post-harvest field stubble.
Lock in Season-Long Performance with DPH Biologicals’ Spring Product Specials
To take advantage of time-limited spring specials and learn more about how DPH Biologicals’ trifecta of proven biological technologies can set your season up for success see DPH Biologicals at Commodity Classic booth #2714, visit our website at www.dphbio.com or call 1-800-648-7626.