In addition to the fertilizers growers apply each season, crops can benefit from the nutrients that are already in the soil or in surface crop residues. But first, these nutrients must be mineralized and converted into plant-available forms that the crop can use. An application of Extract PBA can make this process faster and more efficient.  

In the photo below taken by the Nutrien Ag Solutions North High Plains branch in the spring of 2022, half of this Kansas wheat field had a fall application of Extract PBA technology on it (right side), helping to break down corn stalk residue and increase nutrient availability, while the other half (left side) was untreated. 

By Steve Roehl, Sr. Technical Sales Agronomist, Nutrien Ag Solutions

At harvest, impressive corn yields also leave behind an impressive amount of leaf, stalk and root mass material in the form of stover or residue. While some may call this "corn trash", the sage farmer and agronomist knows that residue is actually a treasure rich in essential crop nutrients, including nitrogen (N), potassium (in the form of K₂O), phosphorus (in the form of P₂O₅), and sulfur (S). 

Crop residue also poses some challenges. Fields with heavy residue levels can be slower to warm in the spring and can pose issues related to planting (e.g., stalks and root balls can hamper planter disc openers and depth-gauge wheels) and crop establishment. In addition, heavy amounts of crop residue can hinder the ability of soil microbes to release nutrients from the residue. This is especially true for nitrogen and sulfur, which are effectively "tied up" (immobilized) by soil microbes that use them as a food source to break down residue. These immobilized nutrients only become available to the crop once the microbes finish digesting the residue and release (mineralize) the nutrients to the soil.

For these reasons, some forethought about residue and nutrient management this fall can pay dividends to your 2023 crop. For years, Nutrien Ag Solutions customers have utilized a fall or spring application of Extract PBA to maximize nutrient release from crop residues and the soil, extend the availability of nutrients later into the season, and optimize yield potential. This biochemical-based technology is an effective way to release bound nutrients while also making seedbed preparation and planting processes more effective in the spring.

Along with raising cattle, the DeBaillie family has been growing corn and soybeans in northwestern Illinois for over 65 years. Today, Randy, Rob and Russell DeBaillie, who are the third-generation of farmers in their family, farm around 6,000 acres of land in a longstanding no-till farming practice. Extract PBA is one of the products they rely on to help them run a successful operation.

Like other growers, the DeBaillies like to get their crops in as early as possible, usually in the last week in April. They typically plant corn at 36,000 seeds per acre in their highly productive rolling clay hills. Given their northern location in Orion, Illinois, harvest ordinarily ends around Thanksgiving.

Rob, Russell and Randy DeBaillie of Orion, Illinois - on the farm and ready to plant in an Extract-treated field.

Crop residue left on the soil surface after harvest can present both challenges and opportunities going into the next planting season. Potential tie-up of important nutrients, delayed nutrient recycling, and difficulty getting pre- and post-applied weed control coverage are some challenges growers may face. However, if crop residues are properly managed, there are great opportunities for nutrient release, improvement in soil organic matter, and soil moisture preservation.

Harvest and tillage equipment that mechanically break down residue are useful management tools, but adding a biochemical tool in the form of Extract PBA can also help growers manage and even benefit from surface crop residue, regardless of their tillage practices.

"Whether you want to release nutrients from the soil or break down your crop residue, Extract PBA does all the heavy lifting, delivering consistent ROI to the farmer," says Michael Bern, Nutrien Ag Solutions Location Manager in Galesberg, Illinois.

Yield success for this grower near Macon, Mississippi started in the fall of last year when he applied 1 gallon per acre of Extract PBA (with 1 gallon/acre of UAN 32 +15 gallons/acre of water) on cotton residue from his 2019 crop.

The grower planted corn in the spring of 2020. Where Extract PBA had been used, he realized a yield increase of +11.47 bushels per acre compared to the check, for a net ROI of $33.88 per acre with his Extract PBA application.

Already a busy period, harvest is also the time for growers to begin planning for next season's crop. Fall planning can be critical to having a less stressful planting season in the spring. Incorporating Titan XC and Extract PBA into fall plans is one way that growers can set themselves up for success in the season ahead.

Agricen's Stephen Sexton breaks down the benefits of these biocatalyst products and explains where they fit into fall programs.

Broken O Ranch in Augusta, Montana, is a farming operation that grows wheat, barley, alfalfa, flax, canola and chickpeas on about 12,000 irrigated acres.

A big concern at the ranch is how to handle crop residue without burning it. Most states around Montana have banned all burning of residue. Dale Clark, the farm manager at Broken O Ranch, feels that it's only a matter of time before the practice is banned in Montana as well. But he also has bigger issues with the practice.

“Burning residue not only takes time and labor, but it also adversely affects the availability of soil moisture because the ground becomes harder after burning," says Dale. "More than that, it negatively impacts nutrient availability. Nutrients are lost when ash is blown by the wind and redeposited or carried off.”

"At Broken O, we’ve been looking for a sustainable solution that we can implement right now,” he says.

By Stephen Sexton (@AgricenLifer), Agricen

Yellow seedlings are a familiar sight for many corn growers. On continuous corn acres, the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio can be more than double the optimal ratio* for crop residue decomposition due to the buildup of organic matter from multiple years of corn-on-corn rotations. Even if a grower has applied nitrogen during the previous fall or around spring planting, soil microbes can out-compete seedling corn plants for nitrogen when excess carbon is present. The microbes use the nitrogen as a food source, immobilizing it as they work to degrade crop residues; the seedling corn plants, meanwhile, turn yellow due to a lack of available nitrogen.

One effective way to solve the problem of yellow corn seedlings in corn-on-corn rotations is to lower soil C:N ratios by baling corn stalks for winter cow feed. Unfortunately, this is really only practical if one has cows—and most row crop farmers do not. In addition, complete removal of corn residue also takes away a significant amount of the N, P and K that comprises corn stover (Table 1).

In a demonstration conducted by Nutrien Ag Solutions in Galesburg, Illinois, Extract PBA was sprayed in fall 2017 on a corn field post-harvest. In spring of 2018, stalks were pulled and split to examine the differences in residue breakdown between treated and untreated parts of the field.

As seen in the photo, the Extract-treated stalks were in a more advanced stage of decomposition than untreated stalks by early spring. 

Extract PBA was sprayed on Nov. 29, 2017. This photo shows corn stalks from treated and untreated parts of the field that were pulled and split on March 23, 2018. 

In Northern Ohio, Nutrien Ag Solutions conducted trials to evaluate the benefits of making a fall residue or spring pre-emerge application of Extract PBA (1 gallon per acre). In these trials, Extract was applied on corn stalks in fields where soybeans would be planted as the next crop. The data shows great potential for a growers' return on investment, with healthier plants and higher pod counts when Extract PBA was used. 

In the trial results shown below, the plants from the treated areas have a more robust structure to support higher yields. Pod clusters are also tighter, with more per node compared to plants from untreated strips in the test plots.