The weekend snow over much of the Midwest accelerated a theme we’ve been seeing in farmers’ phone calls: They’re asking for more details on biological yield boosters for in-furrow use because “It’s starting to look like a late, wet spring.”
March 26, 2018 — One Iowa corn-soybean-cattle producer we’ve worked with for several years wants to replace some in-furrow NPK and trace element dollars with a “triple whammy” blend of:
1. A biological blend strong on mycorrhizal fungi to encourage early root proliferation.
2. A biostimulant that isn’t a live organism, to add another mode of action for early rooting.
3. WakeUP Spring, to accelerate transfer of dissolved soil nutrients into roots and vigorous early growth.
We worked out a conservative in-furrow mix costing $8.93 per acre.
Three ounces of WakeUP, six ounces of Vitazyme, 8 ounces of Environoc 401. The full labeled rate of Vitazyme is 13 ounces, the full rate of Environoc 400 is 16 ounces. We’re counting on WakeUP to offset that “biological lite” half-rate. After all, microbes multiply.
“That’s half the cost of the micronutrients I applied in-furrow last season, which didn’t give me my money back,” he said.
One major factor with this longtime client and innovator is that his Iowa soil is highly fertile and has benefited from composted manure over the years. “So what I need is a way to extract those nutrients, and move them into corn roots as soon as possible after it germinates,” he maintained.
Another long-established biological showing us good yield response with in-furrow application is AgriEnergy’s SP-1.
We can provide all of these in-furrow ingredients, and others. Just call or email.