Blog

by Steve Sexton, Agricen

Growers today are confronted with a large number of fertilizer additive options, including agricultural biostimulants. Too often, some of these products are lumped into the same category, despite different modes of action and varying impacts on crop yields and return on investment (ROI).

Humic Acid Products

Humic acid products are biostimulant products derived from leonardite (low grade coal) that is reacted with potassium hydroxide (KOH) to create a black liquid containing organic acids—primarily fulvic and humic. These organic acids are either long- chained molecules (humic acid) or short-chained molecules (fulvic acid) that contain sites carrying a negative charge. When a grower adds humic acid to a production program, it acts like a bucket—it will hold positively charged nutrients by attracting them to the negatively charged sites on its molecules. However, humic acid cannot fill the bucket with the nutrients the plant needs. This is where biochemical or biostimulant products play a critical role.

Biochemical Products

Biochemical products for agriculture contain biochemical compounds—things like organic acids, chelators, and enzymes—as their primary functioning component. Released by natural microbial processes in the soil or by the addition of biochemical products such as Accomplish or Titan XC to existing fertilizer programs, biochemicals play a critical role in plant nutrition. Primarily, they act upon chemical compounds in the soil (e.g., calcium or iron phosphate) to separate cations (e.g., calcium, magnesium) from anions (e.g., nitrates, phosphates), thereby releasing nutrients into the soil solution. In essence, the biochemistry is like a water valve or tap— by releasing nutrients so that they can find locations on exchange sites or be utilized by plants, it fills the empty bucket created by an application of humic acid.

Humic acid products create a reservoir for nutrients; Agricen's biochemical catalyst technologies release nutrients from chemical compounds in the soil, filling the reservoir and increasing the flow of available nutrients.

The biochemical components in Accomplish and Titan XC are derived through a proprietary fermentation process and then concentrated to provide a highly consistent, efficacious fertilizer catalyst that improves plant performance and increases crop yields, positively impacting the ROI of a grower’s total fertilizer program.

Summary

In summary, both humic acid and biochemical products are biostimulants that can play a role in a larger plant nutrition program. However, each acts very differently in the soil, with humic acid holding nutrients in place, while biochemical products break apart chemical compounds in the soil, making nutrients more available for the plant. Growers who want to maximize their fertility program may want to first apply Accomplish or Titan XC with their standard program before considering the addition of any straight humic or organic acid products.

Learn more about Accomplish and Titan XC by downloading our Biocatalyst Technology booklet.

Burndown season is here, and that offers growers a great opportunity to benefit from an application of Extract PBA on each acre. 

Below is a photo taken in early March from an ongoing wheat trial in Hardin, Kentucky. As you can see, the plant on the right–where Extract PBA was applied with a pre-emerge herbicide–is better positioned to realize top-end yield potential.

Extract PBA is an excellent tool for accelerating improving residue breakdown, nutrient release and nutrient mineralization. It can be tank mixed with herbicides, including glyphosate, and applied with spring burndown. It can also be broadcast with liquid fertilizers.

Position yourself for a great season by including Extract PBA in your pre-emerge program this spring.

Learn more about the benefits of Extract PBA by downloading the product booklet.

We are very excited to introduce “Prove It to Me,” a new film that follows five farmers through the 2015 growing season—from planning and planting to growth and harvest.

Each of the farmers featured in the film used Accomplish, Titan or both technologies as part of their program, and all speak about the results they achieved with our biocatalyst technology (Hint: It’s pretty darn good news!). We invite you to watch a “Prove It to Me” online today.

None of the farmer testimonials were scripted or coached. Their thoughts on the products and practices are simply in their own words and, as you’ll see, a great testimony to using Accomplish and Titan as part of any growing program.

We hope you enjoy the film, and we would be happy to hear any feedback you might have.

An application of Extract PBA can help growers keep a tight focus on nutrient efficiency by powerfully releasing nutrients from residue for use by the coming crop. 

In this side by side trial conducted in Fairbury, Illinois, one half of the harvested corn field was sprayed with Extract PBA in late September and the other was left untreated. There was very little moisture in the first 6 weeks after application, and photos were taken approximately 8 weeks after application. 

As the photo shows, decay on the treated stalks was well advanced compared to the untreated check after only 8 weeks.

Extract PBA can be applied in the fall, broadcast on its own or applied with a burndown herbicide, or in the spring with any pre-herbicide or UAN program. Use it this season to make every nutrient count!

Learn more about using Extract PBA by downloading the Extract PBA product booklet. 

Understanding the microbiology and biochemistry of the soil is an important part of understanding plant health and nutrition.

Download our booklet to learn more about soil microbiology and soil biochemistry, as well as how soil microbes influence soil health, nutrient release and nutrient use efficiency in farming operations.

This booklet covers:

• Definitions of soil microbiology and biochemistry 
• Influence on plant growth, health and nutrition
• Beneficial roles of soil microorganisms
• Biochemical interactions in the soil-plant system
• Influence on nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium

Learn more by downloading "Understanding Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry."

With spring on the way, growers are already thinking about their plans for a successful growing season. For those with crop residues on their fields, a spring (pre-emerge) application of Extract Powered by Accomplish™ (Extract PBA) is a great way to maximize nutrient release from those residues to get more ROI out of their growing program. 

Extract PBA can be used in any residue situation, including:

• Corn going to soybeans
• Wheat going to soybeans
• Wheat to wheat acres
• No-till/minimum till corn on corn acres
• Other crops planted in heavy residue from the previous harvest 

Download our new booklet to learn more about using Extract PBA for nutrient release this spring and better ROI this season.

This booklet covers:

• Answers to frequently asked questions about Extract PBA
• Product description
• Uses and rates
• When to make an application

Learn more about Extract PBA by downloading the Extract PBA product booklet. 

Growers know that uniform corn emergence is a must for achieving great yields. Recent research shows that a delay in emergence of just 12 to 14 hours can affect yield potential.

In side by side field trials at three different locations led by North Carolina State University cropping systems specialist Dr. Ron Heiniger, an in-furrow application of Accomplish LM promoted uniform corn emergence, increased row and kernel number, and increased ear weight by 1/8 lb compared to check (10-27-0 applied in a 2x2 band). Uniform emergence was associated with higher yields: Accomplish LM increased the average yield by +11.5 bushels per acre.

Accomplish LM is a nutrient use efficiency product that offers concentrated biochemistry tin an easy-to-handle liquid form.  Formulated for broadcast and starter fertilizer applications, it helps growers get the most out of their crop fertility programs by increasing nutrient availability and uptake and by promoting root growth and development. 

Use Accomplish LM this spring for more uniform crop emergence and the potential for higher yields at harvest.

Interested in more information on Accomplish LM in corn starter programs? Read our starter booklet.

By Maud Hinchee, PhD, Chief Science Officer, Agricen Sciences

Plants are constantly responding to their senses. They can touch, smell, taste and otherwise sense water, food and predators—and they can remember. Of course, they don’t do all of this exactly the way a human does, but they do respond to the messages they receive from the world around them to survive, thrive and reproduce—much the way we do.

This is a pretty stimulating idea – that plants are actually sentient beings responding to stimuli in a purposeful manner and communicating with each other and with potential friends and foes. (For more on this, take a look at the “What Plants Talk About” episode from the PBS series, Nature.) It’s also an idea that has captivated researchers and companies in the agricultural space in recent years, most notably around the topic of biostimulants and other agricultural biologicals. 

Biostimulants are any of a variety of naturally-derived products that signal plants through biochemical messages to improve their growth, health and nutritional value. Biostimulant products include humic and fulvic acids, seaweed extracts, protein hydrolysates, amino acids, microbial inoculants and biochemical products like Agricen’s, which are derived from naturally occurring microbial communities.

Typically, such products are organically complex, and we haven’t always immediately understood the way they work to influence plant growth and health. What we do know, however, is that they can have a positive effect on plants in the agricultural setting, a claim that is supported by significant and growing scientific evidence.

Biostimulants affect a variety of physiological and biochemical pathways in plants – influencing changes in plant behaviors such as increasing root growth, enhancing nutrient uptake and improving stress tolerance. Essentially, they provide a way to communicate with plants and “tip them off” on how to positively adjust to the environmental and biotic challenges typical of agricultural systems.

We are just beginning to comprehend the significant potential of these products. It will continue to be both exciting and challenging to explore the possibilities biostimulants offer as we work to increase agricultural production for future generations.

Learn more about biological products for agriculture:

Brandon Burkhart is a fourth-generation farmer from Oto, Iowa. Varying soils on his family's 2500-acre corn and soybean operation used to mean it was difficult to get a good, efficient use out of their applied nutrients. Today, Brandon and his family use Accomplish LM and Titan PBA to maximize their fertilizer efficiency, with excellent returns from the accompanying gains in yield. 

“When using our Accomplish LM and Titan PBA combination on corn, it’s been [a yield increase] upwards of 10 bushels or more,” says Brandon. “On our bean operations with just Titan PBA, we’ve seen jumps of 10 bushels per acre.”

“It’s been a great investment for us. It’s been a great return on investment also.”

See how Accomplish LM and Titan PBA are paying off for Brandon and his family.