Can a proactive biostimulant strategy build resilience?

Overcome weather volatility and improve NUE with a proactive biostimulant strategy

Now that farmers are well into drilling for next season, it is important to begin building resilience and foundations for next year’s yield straight away. A proactive biostimulant strategy can influence establishment and rooting, but the window is short, with only 6 months from drilling to the start of stem extension.

Regardless of your cropping plans, you can help protect against abiotic stress and improve nutrient use efficiency by being proactive about your biostimulant strategy now.

Cereals

Slow growth, low light levels and, more recently, a tendency towards drier autumns, has led to greater interest in how biostimulants can help crops establish quickly. This is of particular interest in late drilled crops, for example where the drilling date is delayed deliberately to avoid the main flush of grassweeds. If there is plenty of moisture, there is also the potential issue of ‘lazy rooting’ in the autumn. This can often lead to yield losses if the weather in the spring turns dry, as root biomass is low and root depth is shallow. Split applications of phosphite in the autumn have been shown to improve root biomass by 40% and, even in dry conditions, a difference of 20 cm in root length was noted.

The BBCH 27 – 30timing is critical in terms of biostimulant application as it is early enough to still influence rooting, tiller numbers and tiller survival. Applied at T0, biostimulant technologies stimulate the growth of the root system, increase nutrient uptake, and improve green leaf retention. Use our decision-making guide to determine which technology is improving crop conditions at BBCH 27 – 30. You can see an example of biostimulant strategy in cereals below.

Oilseed Rape

There has been a significantly wider range of drilling dates for oilseed rape this season, with a wide range of growth stages. Typically, more vigorous crops will be more resilient and have the ability to overcome pigeon damage and cabbage stem flea beetle larvae during the winter. Manipulating root biomass and root length will also help oilseed rape crops overcome potential dry spells in the spring. Typically, 50% of crops lack sufficient root depth to overcome dry conditions of longer than 4 weeks.

Spring biostimulants have a different purpose as crops move into the construction phase. They help to maintain and build biomass during periods of abiotic stress, as well as maintaining sufficient uptake of nitrogen and water. Oilseed rape is susceptible to dull, low UV conditions during grain fill which can negatively impact yield. Biostimulants like Status help maximise photosynthesis even in overcast conditions. A factor that has been identified as contributing to the yield plateau on oilseed rape is relatively low nitrogen- and sulphur-use efficiency. Nutrino Pro is a highly efficient foliar nitrogen product, that includes magnesium, sulphur and a combination of biostimulants to improve uptake and nitrogen assimilation.

You can see below an example of biostimulant strategy in oilseed rape.

For help planning your proactive biostimulant programme, consult your agronomist or contact us.