MAXIMIZING YIELD POTENTIAL WITH BIOSTIMULANTS

It’s no surprise when yields diminish due to crop stress and insufficient nutrients. Coupling good nutrients with biostimulants can mitigate stress and help maximize crop productivity by stimulating the natural processes in crops.

It’s been said that “the highest yield potential of the seed is when it is in the bag,” said Kevin Carlson, Federated’s agronomy sales manager. Biostimulants help maintain as much of the yield potential as possible” once the seed is in the ground. (Read Biostimulants Basics.)

Though not new to the ag industry, biostimulants are currently a hot topic as “we learn how they fit, what’s the best place to use them, where we get the best response, and where we get the best return on investment,” said Carlson.

Link to Rosen’s pdf or other article – Kevin?

The main goal of biostimulants is to improve yields, and they add a layer of protection against crop stress – “since the weather is rarely perfect,” Carlson quipped.

Biostimulants fall into specific categories: extracts (e.g., amino acids, fulvic acids, and some microbials), microbes (bacteria and fungi), hormones (e.g., auxins, cytokinins), synthetic chemicals (e.g, fungicides that have stress relieving properties), and nutrients/fertilizers.

Pulling from the different categories, biostimulants can be used in a variety of combinations in any of “the four main windows of opportunity” in a growing season, said Carlson:

• - as a seed treatment;
• - as an in-furrow application at planting;
• - as a side dress or band application;
• - as a foliar application.

The comingling of the biostimulants with nutrients (both micro and macro) offer more stress relief, more efficacy, and – ultimately – more yield response.

Contact your Federated Agronomist for further information on biostimulants and their potential use on your farm. Read the related article on Enliven with Yield Burst™ Technology, a new biostimulant adjuvant blend available from Federated this year.