We encourage you to study the profit analysis on the table below, showing a 6.7 bu. per acre yield gain from one foliar spray of Fulltec Impulse Soy at R1 — in a replicated trial.
Without at least three to five standardized trial replications, it’s hard to “see” a 6 or 7 bu. yield gain. Most growers who test a foliar product compare half a sprayed field with the other unsprayed half. But soil and moisture heavily influence yield variations across the field. One of our growers in “prairie pothole” territory reports that soybean yields recorded on his combine monitor varied from 120 bu. to less than 40 bu. in a half-mile row.
Most foliar yield boosters nudge yields by 3 to 8 bu. per acre. Combine GPS yield maps are commonly set to change colors at increments around 5 bu. per acre.
In this case, Fulltec Impulse Soy provided a wide array of essential micronutrients and amino acids at the initial reproductive phase, helping preserve more pods and improve final soybean size and density. With $12.95 beans, that meant another net return of $96.62 per acre including higher yield and a cost saving compared with the GSP (Grower’s standard practice of a fungicide/insecticide).
High-yield farmers typically go for the incremental gains of 3 to 8 bu. per acre. With a nutrition package like Fulltec Impulse, we’ve come to expect that including WakeUP in the spray solution will enhance yield response another 40% to as much as 80%. Example: if a foliar gives you a 5-bu. yield response, adding WakeUP can add another 2 to 4 bushels by improving leaf coverage and penetration into plant metabolism.
However, we’ve found only a few growers willing to take the extra time to complete random-rep trials. Planting and combining arouse an adrenaline-fueled race against time and weather. No time to plant flags, measure and load different in-furrow solutions and so on. However, more growers with their own sprayers are willing to run summer foliar tests. They can flag sprayer-width strips of corn or bean rows, and observe response with the combine monitor. Many farmers combine soybeans at a slight angle to the rows, but by tweaking the yield increments on the combine monitor, variations of 3 to 5 bu. can show up as patterns on the yield map.
