Crops Can Now Access More Nitrogen
As every farmer knows, corn and soybeans rely on a steady supply of nitrogen and phosphorus to grow and produce grain. However, applied nutrients do not always make their way to the plant. Today, thanks to scientific discoveries, new tools are being developed to improve nutrient uptake and help growers succeed in ways that were previously not possible.
Recent insights into how molecular signaling influences plant and microbial physiology led to the development of a chemistry that increases nutrient cycling by activating the soil microbiome. When it is applied, microbes are able to work harder for the plant, providing a more efficient way to improve yield and giving the grower a better return on investment (ROI).
This new technology can be found in SOURCE™, a microbiome activator that mimics the natural signals plants send to microbes in the soil. By stimulating native nitrogen-fixing bacteria and phosphate-solubilizing microbes, nutrients are converted from unavailable to bioavailable forms for efficient uptake by the plant. This increases the availability of critical nutrients and boosts nutrient use efficiency.
Activate Yield or Optimize Nitrogen
With chemistry at its core, SOURCE Corn is very easy for growers to adopt. It’s a shelf-stable product, tank mix compatible with herbicides and fungicides, and offers a very low use rate of less than one fluid ounce per acre. It has also shown consistent results over four years of field trials. Today, growers can use the product to improve ROI in one of two ways:
- Those who use nitrogen fertilizer efficiently can add SOURCE Corn to increase yields an average of 7.5 bushels per acre with an 83% win rate.
- Those with less efficient nitrogen fertilizer practices can use SOURCE Corn to provide the equivalent of 25-50 lbs of nitrogen per acre while maintaining yield.
“If we look at the U.S. corn market, national yields continue to trend higher, but at an increasing cost to profitability and the environment,” said Jeff Divan, Senior Manager of Sales Agronomy at Sound Agriculture. “It takes more nitrogen to grow a bushel of corn today than it did 50 years ago, which is not a sustainable trend. As a grower myself, having a product that allows us to grow corn more efficiently while reducing impact on the land is a huge step forward.”
Giving Soybeans an Extra Boost
SOURCE Soybeans activates phosphate-solubilizing microbe populations in the soil to release the phosphorus that is bound to other elements, like calcium and iron, providing more nutrition throughout the growing season. And, although soybean plants form root nodules that host nitrogen-fixing bacteria, toward the end of the season during grain-fill, they are not able to keep up with the nitrogen needs of higher-yielding soybeans. Using SOURCE Soybeans provides the extra boost of nitrogen needed during this time to maximize yield.
“Because soybeans can support the fixation of nitrogen, soybean fertility needs are often overlooked,” said Joel Lipsitch, VP Product Management and Marketing, Sound Agriculture. “Today’s high-yielding soybeans require optimal nutrition to reach their full potential. By giving growers a new tool to improve nutrient efficiency, we can help increase productivity and profitability.”
SOURCE Soybeans has a new active ingredient specifically tailored to the needs of soybeans. It is foliar applied and easy to use, with no tank mix limitations or special equipment required.
To learn more visit www.sound.ag.