Recent heavy rainfall contrasts dramatically with last year’s drought conditions.
According to a 2024 article in Spectrum News, “one effect of climate change is that warming is pushing more water into the atmosphere, driving up rainfall. Much of the Midwest has seen a 5% to 15% increase in spring rainfall over roughly the past three decades, according to the federal government’s Fifth National Climate Assessment. That assessment projected an additional 8% to 20% increase in the region by mid-century.”
What does that mean for current crop conditions and expectations? When seasons are overly moist, the need for adaptive nutrient management practices increases, along with the need for biologicals to help mitigate the challenges that saturation brings.
Impact of wet conditions on fields
Wet conditions promote nitrogen leaching and denitrification, resulting in nitrogen loss. This is often visible as striping in wheat fields, due to poor application or nutrient leaching. But nitrogen isn’t the only nutrient that can be impacted by excessive moisture in the soil.
Proactive fertilization
Wet soils can also limit root development, affecting the plant’s ability to extract nutrients. The advanced crop nutrition provided by products with dual forms of nutrients and biologicals can help bridge the gap by enhancing root access to nutrients, and hedge against delays in application. Products like MicroEssentials® and Aspire® provide peace of mind as they contain two forms of sulfur and boron, respectively.
Waterlogged soils can impair nutrient uptake, making it crucial to optimize the timing and type of fertilizer applications. In overly moist conditions, growers might need to advance their side-dress fertilizer applications to ensure adequate nutrient availability before critical growth stages. This might require additional fertilizer inputs beyond initial budgets, which makes it all the more critical to ensure that the nutrients applied are adequately absorbed. That’s where biologicals come into play.
Strategic biological application
Maximizing nutrient availability and utilization during less-than-optimal conditions can help mitigate risks brought on during unpredictable weather patterns. Biologicals like PowerCoat™ can improve nutrient uptake efficiency by up to 3%. And during the growing season, every little bit counts toward harvest.
With big rains, fields are often too wet for machinery, leading to delays beyond optimal planting windows. It can be hard to get back into the field after planting to continue to nurture your crops and assess your fields. “If you can’t get back to the field, the best thing you can do is have something in the field that’s going to continue to help plants improve nutrient use efficiency with whatever nutrients are currently in the root zone and are available to the plant.” said Matt Sowder, Director of Field Solutions at Mosaic. “So I think that biologicals… whether it’s under wet, anaerobic conditions or anything else, as long as you have actively growing plants, then you have a reasonable opportunity to see a nice response from a biological in that marketplace or in that atmosphere.”
Microbial activity
Biologicals like PowerCoat can help improve nutrient use efficiency by making cations and anions more available in the soil and continue to support plant growth even under wet or anaerobic conditions. While excessive moisture can affect nutrient cycling and availability, it generally does not eliminate microbial populations.
Some microbes may go dormant, while others may reduce in concentration but remain present in the rhizosphere. Some microbes may die if they lack feed, but most will remain at lower concentrations and can potentially be reintroduced through subsequent applications.
Mosaic biologicals support microbial activity that produces plant growth-promoting compounds essential for root development. A healthier, more robust root system enables more efficient nutrient absorption, leading to stronger plants and higher yield potential.
The Role of PowerCoat in Enhancing Seed Vigor
PowerCoat forms a protective coating around seeds with a nutrient-rich formula that includes essential micro and macronutrients crucial during the early stages of a plant’s life. This coating ensures seeds have immediate access to nutrients, regardless of external conditions. Here’s how PowerCoat makes a difference:
• Drought Resilience: PowerCoat helps seeds maintain higher moisture levels. The seedlings are better equipped to withstand dry conditions by improving water uptake right from germination.
• Flood Tolerance: In overly wet conditions, seeds treated with PowerCoat show improved metabolic functions, enabling them to survive and thrive despite the risk of waterlogging.
• Early Root Development: The nutrients in PowerCoat promote vigorous root growth. Stronger root systems allow plants to access deeper soil layers for moisture and nutrients, which is crucial during irregular weather patterns.
Evidence from the Fields
Success stories from farmers who have adopted PowerCoat are a testament to its effectiveness. By incorporating this product into their nutrient management practices, they have observed healthier crops and improved yields, despite adverse weather conditions.
Recent studies and trials demonstrate the effectiveness of PowerCoat:
• Midwest Corn Trials, 2023: In a season marked by early drought followed by heavy rains, corn treated with PowerCoat exhibited a 15% higher yield than untreated seeds.
• Soybean Resilience Study, 2022: Soybeans with PowerCoat treatment showed enhanced root development, correlated with a 20% increase in plant biomass under drought conditions.
Integrating PowerCoat into Your Farming Practice
Incorporating PowerCoat into your seed treatment strategy is straightforward:
• Choose the Right Seeds: Select seed varieties tailored to your local conditions and enhance them with PowerCoat.
• Application: Ensure seeds are evenly coated with PowerCoat. This can be done during the purchase or on-farm if facilities are available.
• Monitoring: Keep track of weather forecasts and soil moisture levels to adjust irrigation and other management practices accordingly.
For more information on how to incorporate biologicals like PowerCoat into your fertility plan, reach out to a Mosaic representative.