Growers make nutrient management decisions all season long. This includes the period just before and after harvest, when they need to decide whether a fall dry fertilizer application makes sense.

Growers who do decide to make a fall application face a significant challenge when it comes to dry fertilizer efficiency. This is because applied phosphorus and potassium fertilizers can be easily tied up by the soil chemistry. Even with the best program, only an estimated 10-30% of applied phosphorus and 20-60% of applied potassium will be available to their crop in the spring. This level of inefficiency is not good for the grower or the crop.  

One way growers can better ensure that they are getting more out of the nutrition they apply is by treating their dry fertilizer with Titan XC, a biocatalyst technology that is specifically formulated to increase nutrient availability from dry fertilizers. This can have a positive impact on a grower’s yield, as seen in the summary of corn, soybean and wheat trials from 2010-2019 below.

As manager of the Loveland Research Farm in Owensboro, Kentucky, Tim Sickman is well acquainted with the benefits of applying Titan XC on dry fertilizer. One of the trials that nicely highlights the advantages of Titan XC on dry fertilizer was conducted by his group during the 2015 and 2016 growing seasons in corn and soybean.

"In 2015, we initiated a study in corn on a site that already had a very respectable P and K soil test level," he says. "We took 150 lbs of a 9-23-30 fertilizer blend. In one of the treatments, we impregnated the 9-23-30 with the standard rate of Titan XC of 1 pint per ton of fertilizer. In the other treatment, we simply left that 150 lbs of 9-23-30 untreated."

Tim and his group then monitored the growth and development of the corn throughout the growing season, and harvested at the end of the year.

"When we ran the plot combine, what we saw was an 18 bushel per acre yield increase where Titan XC had been used on the dry fertilizer versus where we had not used the Titan XC," he says.

In the fall of 2017, Benjamin Rice, a crop consultant for Nutrien Ag Solutions in Sidney, Illinois, was faced with a challenge. 

He typically recommended Titan XC to his grower customers as a treatment for applied dry phosphorus and potassium fertilizers to help increase yield and profitability. Making the case for using this fertilizer biocatalyst was easy with growers who were blanket spreading dry fertilizers, but demonstrating the value of Titan XC was more complicated with a customer who used variable rate (VRT) applied fertilizer and did not want to pay more for the Titan XC technology. Benjamin needed to figure out a way to prove that Titan XC could have a nutrient efficiency and yield benefit when used with his customer's VRT fertilizer.

When it comes to fall dry fertilizer applications, poor soil conditions and bad weather can significantly decrease fertilizer efficiency. Treating dry fertilizer with Titan XC before it goes out in the field can help  growers address these challenges and get the highest return on their fertilizer investment.

A check-in on a corn trial near New Salem, Indiana, shows that Titan XC is adding value to the grower's standard corn program, resulting in bigger roots, plants and stalks where Titan XC-treated fertilizer was used.

“When we compared the plants we pulled, we consistently saw larger root masses, thicker stalks and larger plants on the treated side of the field compared to the untreated side," said Nutrien Ag Solutions' Sierra Gearhart, who is operating the trial.

Results from cotton, corn and soybean trials conducted in North Carolina and Virginia show how Titan XC can optimize yield potential by enhancing the availability of applied P&K within an annual cropping cycle.

In cotton, treating dry fertilizer with Titan XC led to a yield increase of 328 lbs of lint/acre compared to untreated fertilizer, for a return on investment of over $203/acre for the grower.

Results from corn trials in central Indiana show the potential for big corn yield gains and ROI with fall-applied Titan XC. 

In the fall of 2016, Titan XC-treated and untreated dry fertilizer (MES10 and 0-0-60) was applied to three fields in central Indiana using a variable rate technology (VRT) system. The fields were planted with corn in the spring. In the fall of 2017, the corn crop harvested from Titan XC-treated parts of the fields demonstrated both an increased yield and an impressive ROI compared to the crops harvested from the untreated parts of the fields. 

In both the first and second trials, the yield improvement with Titan XC was 12 bu/a compared to untreated, with an ROI of more than $35 an acre. In the third trial, the yield improvement with Titan XC was even more impressive at a whopping 41 bu/a, with an ROI of more than $135/acre.

Growers who spread dry fertilizer on corn fields going to soybeans may want to consider the results of this Titan XC trial from Cozad, Nebraska. In a test plot, treating dry fertilizer with Titan XC provided a 14 bushel/acre yield advantage in soybeans compared to the soybean plots where untreated fertilizer was applied.

As growers deal with tight budgets and carefully evaluate all of their input costs, a simple dry fertilizer demonstration shows why Titan XC is important to any operation's bottom line.

Prepared by Nutrien Ag Solutions in Cecilia, Kentucky, these jar tests shows the value that Titan XC brings when applied to dry fertilizers. As you can see in the photos, Titan XC has accelerated the breakdown of fertilizer prill in the treated jars, translating into greater nutrient release and improved fertilizer efficiency in the field. All photos were taken after three weeks.