With today’s corn genetics providing the potential to grow more than 300 bushels per acre, growers need a new take on crop management, particularly when it comes to soil fertility. Have 15 minutes? Hear Dr. Fred Below of the University of Illinois talk about how to move from a “feed the soil” to a “feed the plant” approach to high-yield corn fertility program. 

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

It’s spring, and newly germinated seedlings are revving their engines!

Once a seedling has secured a foothold with its root, it uses the power of its photosynthetic engines to drive growth. Sunlight is the fuel source, enabling the plant to produce the proteins, lipids and carbohydrates it needs to make new leaves and new roots. To create these internal building blocks, the seedling must mine and extract raw materials from the soil in the form of water, macronutrients and micronutrients.

How does a root prospect? Unlike the “49ers” who picked up their stakes and often travelled great distances to join the California Gold Rush, a plant is literally rooted to its home. Often, its immediate home is not choice real estate with plentiful water and nutrients on tap, so the plant needs to be able to find water and nutrients, sometimes at great distance, and “sluice” them back through its root system to the growing shoot.

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."

By Fred E. Below, PhD, Professor of Plant Physiology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Agronomic advancements have brought corn yields to new heights, but producers have had little guidance on how to meet the nutrient requirements of modern, high-yield corn hybrids in a way that maximizes their yields. As a result, the high yields we see today have been accompanied in many places across the United States by a significant drop in soil nutrient levels, particularly phosphorus (P), potassium (K), sulfur (S) and zinc (Zn). This combination—higher yielding hybrids and decreasing soil fertility levels—suggests that producers have not sufficiently matched their maintenance fertilizer applications with nutrient uptake and removal by the corn.

Agricen and sister company, Agricen Sciences, have released a new white paper. “Growing for the Future: Supporting Sustainable Agriculture with a New Generation of Biologically Sourced Tools for Plant Nutrition” provides growers with the information they need to understand biologically sourced plant nutrition and how it can help them meet sustainability goals.

We all know that drought and excessive heat cause significant yield reductions, with devastating consequences for growers. But why, exactly, does this occur?