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See the latest news, innovation updates, trial results, grower stories and more from Agricen. 
November 19, 2012 — Posted By AMSPressMaster

Residue field

by Steve Sexton, Director, Eastern Region, Agricen

There has been a lot of discussion with respect to nutrient utilization (or lack thereof) during the drought this past summer and the amount of nutrients that are tied up or bound in crop residue. What percentage of these nutrients will be available for next season's crop growth?

Below is a nutrient removal chart for 200 bushel corn, tracking what is removed by the grain and what is left behind in the stalk/residue. Typically, there’s a great deal of potassium (about 80% of the applied K) left in the crop residue after harvest, along with 40% of the applied nitrogen and 25% of the applied phosphorous. At today's prices, these tied-up nutrients have a value of over $125 per acre!

Corn at 200 Bushels

Corn at 200 bushels

Chart produced using The Mosaic Company’s Nutrient Removal App.
For more information and resources, please visit their “
Back to Basics” soil fertility site.

What options are available to growers who want to access these nutrients?

One accepted practice has been to apply 10-15 gallons of UAN after harvest in the fall to assist with microbial decomposition of crop residue and to accelerate nutrient release. The downfall of this approach is that microbial decomposition slows and eventually stops as soil temperatures drop below 40° F.

Today, we also have a biochemical fertilizer catalyst, Accomplish® LM, which works to release tied-up nutrients (regardless of soil temperatures) and increase crop yields—all for a lower price than a fall UAN application. (See 2012 Jacksonville, Illinois Corn on Corn Trial).

Mid-Vegetation Stages – 2012 Jacksonville, IL Continuous Corn Trial

Residue - Treated vs. Untreated

Please call your Crop Production Service (CPS) retail representative or Loveland Products representative for more information on Accomplish LM.

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June 26, 2012 — Posted By AMSPressMaster

asm2012Researchers from the University of North Texas (UNT) recently presented data at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology from a study done in collaboration with Agricen.

Using molecular analysis techniques, the team identified a potentially novel bacterial species among the community of beneficial microorganisms from which Agricen derives its biochemical products. The previously unrecognized species appears to be related to a yet-to-be isolated bacterial group, known as the polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs), which have the ability to remove excess phosphate from wastewater. This new finding may have the potential to improve wastewater purification processes, thereby helping to prevent deleterious plant and algal blooms caused by excessive phosphate in lakes or other bodies of water.

You can read the full abstract, “Detection and Phylogenetic Analysis of Uncultured Rhodocyclaceae Closely Related to the Phosphate Accumulating Bacteria,” here.

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