Releasing Nutrients from Cover Crop Skeletons with Extract PBA

Cover crops provide many benefits that can improve the health of soil, water, and the following crop. However, they can also pose some drawbacks. In the spring at planting, cover crop skeletons can interfere with seed to soil contact. They can also stress the seedling by interfering with access to sunlight, requiring the planted crop to stretch so that it can reach above the cover crop canopy.

Extract PBA provides an efficient way to manage cover crop skeletons so that growers can avoid these issues and give the coming crop a nutritional boost. These Nutrien Ag Solutions trials conducted in Ohio show how an application of Extract PBA can break down cover crop skeletons to release nutrients for the following crop. 

In the picture above, Extract PBA was applied in the fall at 1 gallon/acre. In the spring prior to emergence, the treated part of the field had better planting conditions with more available nutrients compared to the untreated part of the field. This translated into healthier soybean plants during the growing season.

In the picture below, Extract PBA was applied in the summer at 2 gallons/acre. Once again, this side by side trial shows healthier, more robust soybean plants in the Extract PBA-treated part of the field compared to no treatment.

You can learn more about Extract PBA by watching one of our on-demand webinars or reading an Extract PBA publication.