Nitrogen has always been one of the most important investments growers make each season.
Today, however, market volatility, rising input costs, and unpredictable weather are putting more pressure on every nitrogen decision.
Industry estimates suggest that 10% to 30% of applied nitrogen is lost annually through a combination of volatilization, denitrification, leaching, and other pathways, according to nitrogen loss guidance from Purdue University Extension, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. As nitrogen continues to represent a significant portion of crop input costs, protecting that investment has become an increasingly important part of the nitrogen management conversation.
Rates, timing, and placement all matter, but even when those decisions are made carefully, nitrogen can still be vulnerable once applied.
“Growers are doing everything they can to make smart nitrogen decisions,” says Mike Zwingman Director of Global Agronomy at Verdesian Life Sciences. “The challenge is that nitrogen doesn’t always stay where the crop needs it, when the crop needs it.”
As a result, many growers are rethinking nitrogen management, shifting the focus from how much nitrogen is applied to how much remains available to the crop throughout the growing season. In today’s environment, nutrient efficiency is no longer just a consideration, but a core part of the strategy.
The numbers tell a complicated story. According to USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) data, nitrogen application rates have increased over the past two decades — and while nitrogen use efficiency has improved, annual gains average just 1%. For an input as critical and costly as nitrogen, that pace of improvement means a significant share of what growers apply still isn’t reaching its full potential.
For years, Verdesian Life Sciences has focused on closing that gap. As The Nutrient Use Efficiency People®, the company developed its nitrogen portfolio around a straightforward objective: helping keep more applied nitrogen available and working in the field to support crop performance and yield potential.
At the center of that approach are two complementary solutions: N-Charge® G and Trident®. Both are powered by Verdesian’s proprietary XCHAIN® technology, a resin-based system designed to help retain nutrients in the root zone and release them in response to crop demand. Backed by 170 trials across 13 Midwest states over the past eight years, N-Charge® G and Trident® have delivered consistent performance across a range of growing conditions.
N-Charge® G gives growers a way to enhance nitrogen efficiency by helping keep ammonium in the root zone longer. Because ammonium is a plant-available form of nitrogen, keeping it near actively growing roots can help support crop uptake throughout the season. The product is designed to support a more stable nitrogen environment in the soil while providing growers with easy-to-use pretreatment flexibility.
“As someone who comes from a corn and soybean farming background, I know how quickly weather and field conditions can influence nitrogen performance throughout the season,” says Mike Zwingman. “N-Charge G isn’t about applying more nitrogen—it’s about helping growers get more from the nitrogen they’ve already applied by keeping it where the crop can use it.”
Trident® addresses another critical challenge: nitrogen loss. This stabilizer product combines the proven active ingredients NBPT and DCD with Verdesian’s proprietary XCHAIN® technology to help protect against all three major forms of nitrogen loss: volatilization, nitrification, and denitrification.
Nitrogen loss doesn’t occur through a single pathway. Depending on weather and field conditions, nitrogen can be lost to the atmosphere, converted into unavailable forms, or moved away from the root zone.
“On the farm, you don’t get to choose which environmental challenges show up during the season,” Zwingman says. “That’s why protecting against multiple pathways of nitrogen loss is so important.”
Together, N-Charge G and Trident address two of the biggest challenges in nitrogen management: keeping nitrogen where crops can access it and helping protect against loss after application. Combined, the products have delivered an average yield increase of 4%, demonstrating the impact effective nitrogen management can have in the field.
For growers navigating an increasingly complex production environment, that combination offers a more complete approach to nitrogen management—one focused not just on application, but on helping crops utilize this vital macronutrient more efficiently.
With Verdesian’s nitrogen efficiency portfolio, growers have one proven way through tough nitrogen times.
Explore Verdesian’s nitrogen efficiency portfolio.
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