We’re quoting that question from Iowa crop consultant Bob Streit, posted to his clients and friends today as part of his weekly advisory service. Here’s the rest of that section, lifted out of his longer column and slightly edited by us. May 3, 2018  By Bob Streit —  “With the break in the weather, the agenda […]

Just over a month since planting, our 40 “test tube” root growing tests show that adding beneficial live microbes with in-furrow treatments, along with a biostimulant and WakeUP Spring, consistently leads to more vigorous rooting compared with no biological boosters. May 2, 2018 — If you’re taking a few minutes off from corn planting, check out these photos

Root and top growth in our test-tube experiment remains consistent, now passing the three-week mark after planting. Total height of the seed treated in-furrow with SP-1, LigniSeed and WakeUP Spring is 35 inches from root tip to leaf tip, and a fifth leaf unfurling. The untreated comparison is 25 inches from root tip to leaf

A TeeJet ad in the April Wallaces Farmer says chemical producers recommend the “Turbo TeeJet Induction Spray Tip” for “ultra coarse droplets” allowing only 2% “driftable fines.” A coarse droplet intensifies your need for WakeUP Summer, so big droplets clear-coat the leaf and absorb immediately. April 16, 2018 — We’ve presented the same point many times: A coarse foliar spray droplet reduces drift

This Spring a Great Blue heron began fishing in our farm pond for the first time. The huge Ardea herodias is the largest bird we’ve seen among the many dozens of species now migrating to our “20-Acre Eden” near Cedar Falls, Iowa.  Why do you suppose they’re congregating on our little haven? When we moved

We’ve waited two weeks since planting to detect foundational differences in root growth in our test tube corn. Now we’re seeing how seeds given an in-furrow squirt of beneficial microbes, plus a biostimulant, plus WakeUP Spring, are growing hundreds of root hairs laterally from multiple, deep taproots. Corn in both tubes was treated with microbial mixes April 11, 2018

Our “test tube” trials — germinating corn with an array of in-furrow products — is sending a fairly consistent “signal” indicated by vigor of seedling growth. Inoculating with a mycorrhiza blend apparently helps energize sprouting corn to accelerate leaf development. We haven’t measured roots yet. April 9, 2018 — It would take many replicated trials, using your own soils, to “conclude”

That quote came from one of our WakeUP clients — one who usually gets everything done on time on 1,300 acres and yet has plenty of time to try a few new ideas every Spring. He plants corn by soil temperatures, realizing how critical uniform emergence is for uniformly high yields across the field.  April

This is a first of many observations we’ll make of emergence and rooting tests with corn and soybeans, checking the potential usefulness of “test tube” germination and root growth. Purpose: Screen combinations of in-furrow biologicals, biostimulants, nutrients and WakeUP Spring. April 3, 2018 — You can see the array of initial soil-filled “terrarium” tubes in our initial report