Why use a starter fertilizer, and how can growers make sure their applied nutrients don’t get tied up in the soil chemistry?

Why do I need to use a starter fertilizer?

Starter fertilizers provide needed phosphorus when planting in soils that are near or below 50°F. At cooler soil temperatures, native soil microbes are not very active and are not producing the biochemistry that solubilizes soil phosphorous—a critical nutrient for early seedling vigor and root development.

By placing starter fertilizers in-furrow with the seed or in a 2x2 band near the seed, the plant has an accessible supply of phosphorous and other nutrients during germination and early development.

Aren't all starter fertilizers pretty much the same?

Not quite. There are two main types of phosphate in starter fertilizers: polyphosphate (such as 10-34-0) and orthophosphate (such as 9-18-9). Polyphosphates have a higher salt content and must be converted to orthophosphate before plants can utilize the phosphorous. Orthophosphates are low in salt and can be placed right on the seed. Although orthophosphates are readily available, they are easily tied up by soil chemistry. Whatever the starter fertilizer, adding a biochemical product like Accomplish LM or Titan PBA can make it go farther by speeding and improving nutrient mineralization and by facilitating nutrient uptake.

When using a starter, how can I stop applied phosphorous from being tied up by the soil chemistry?

Accomplish LM and Titan PBA can be applied with your starter fertilizer to speed up and improve mineralization and increase root mass so that more phosphorus can be taken up and utilized by the plant. Multiple university and third-party studies show a 5+ bushel per acre increase when Accomplish LM or Titan PBA is added to a grower’s standard starter program.