Inoculants: Effective stimuli for the queens of the fields

Source

12501

15:56 | Oct 28, 2021

Ukrainian agricultural producers received effective biological products to increase the yield of corn and wheat

Domestic farmers continue to consolidate the sown area for corn in almost all regions of the country. Although in the last 3-4 years the sown area under this crop has been at a stable level, according to experts, there is a potential for growth, and quite a considerable one. It is no coincidence that the share of grains (including corn) in the structure of crops is constantly growing - from 18% in the recent past to 22% this year. A further increase in maize sowing directly depends on an increase in the yield of this crop.

The high quality of Ukrainian corn and the growing demand for it in the world markets, where the "queen of the fields" ranks third after wheat and rice, prompts the leaders of the agro-industrial complex to look for new tools to increase yields.

However, existing and long-familiar nitrogen fertilizers cannot radically help them. Well, science does not stand still, and in recent years, agricultural producers have received a worthy alternative - effective innovative biological products for increasing yields - inoculants.

Analyzing the efficiency criteria of the inoculants presented on the Ukrainian market, experts note their optimal combination in the products of the American company TerraMax Inc., which is represented in Ukraine by its official distributor, Terramax Ukraine. In addition to the quality indicators recognized in the world, the advantages of these products include their shelf life, the ability to remain on seeds for up to 120 days after processing, a high titer of colony-forming bacteria with minimal cost rates, and some others.

Until recently, domestic farmers had access mainly to certified inoculants for soybeans - MAXIMIZE and TerraMax Dry, presented on our market. For the third year already, one of the leaders of the agro-industrial complex, Nibulon, has been using them; this year, TerraMax Dry began to be used by another large agricultural holding, TAS agro. The farmers were impressed by the result - plus 11-15% to the achieved soybean yield indicators.

This year Terramax Ukraine has expanded the line of inoculants of the American manufacturer with biological products for corn Micro AZ IF Liquid for Corn, as well as for wheat. The premiere of corn inoculants in Ukraine turned out to be quite impressive. For agricultural companies that used Terramax inoculants, the yield of the “queen of the fields”, as they liked to call corn in the old days, is, on average, 10-15% higher per hectare. Among the producers on whose fields Micro AZ IF Liquid for Corn has proven itself well is the T.G. Shevchenko Private Farming (Boguslavsky district, Kiev region), Private Farming "AGROFIRMA UZINSKA" (Bilotserkivsky district, Kyiv region), Private Complex "LEVADA" (Stavishchensky district, Kyiv region), TOV "Svitanok" (Lisyansky district, Cherkassy region), Private Complex "KOLOS" (Borodyansky district, Kyiv region), LLC ELITNO-NASINNEVA AGROFIRMA "MRIYA" (Volodarsky district, Kyiv region), Private Complex "Ostrivske" (Rakitnyansky district, Kyiv region), etc.

“Farmers should understand that biological products are not some distant future or a by-product of bioengineering, but now the realities of agricultural production in developed countries,” comments Iurii Gogol, CEO of TerraMax Ukraine. “Every next year, the market for biological products is only growing, especially considering the rise in prices for natural resources (gas, oil) and announced by the states of Europe and the world, programs for the transition to eco-technologies for agricultural production in the next 5-10 years.”

How to increase the productivity of soybeans, wheat, corn, barley, accumulate biological nitrogen in the soil and, in general, obtain the maximum yield level?

Based on numerous studies, experts have come to the conclusion that the best option for the accumulation of biological nitrogen in the soil and increasing yields is to use nodule bacteria that work in symbiosis with plants, forming "nodules" (special structures on the roots).

For active formation of bubbles on the roots, it is necessary to treat the seeds with an inoculant based on live bacteria Bradyrhizobium japonicum. As a result of this, atmospheric nitrogen is fixed, which plants use for their own needs, and also enriches the soil for subsequent crops. During the year, symbiont bacteria can accumulate up to 300 kg of nitrogen per 1 ha.

“If you do not carry out pre-sowing treatment of plants with highly active bacteria, then the root is populated with native strains, and you get a situation when there are nodules on the plants, but they are not active and do not fix nitrogen,” notes Kateryna Balvas-Gremyakova, manager of the biotechnology department at UKRAVIT. - It should be noted that microorganisms in the composition of the inoculant have a positive effect on the plant during the entire growing season: from germination to harvest. An important factor in the penetration of rhizobia into root cells is the survival of bacteria in the saprophytic soil environment. That is why the basis of the TerraMax Inc. USA are highly active selective strains that have been used in the American and Australian markets ”.

Modern inoculants from TerraMax Inc. USA are adapted for use in farms with different technical capabilities, growing technologies, environmental conditions, and the like.

“In addition, TerraMax inoculants can be used in arid regions, thanks to the high titer of bacteria and the formula of the biological product that protects them from negative environmental influences,” adds Kateryna Balvas-Gremyakova.

Manufacturing of all products from TerraMax Inc. takes place in the United States in Eagan (Minnesota). The main constituent of inoculants is the bacterium Azospirilla, with the current TerraMax product line being used in powder or liquid form for seed, crop planting to naturally stimulate crop yields through nitrogen fixation. Azospirillum are natural microorganisms (bacteria) that stimulate effective plant growth, working as nitrogen fixers, they concentrate nitrogen directly from the air and soil, supplying it to the roots of crops, such as corn.

Experts have come to the conclusion that biological nitrogen fixation, which is the basis for the production of inoculants, is the only way to ensure the ecology of the environment. At the same time, it allows manufacturers of biological products to significantly reduce the consumption of energy and raw materials in the production of nitrogen-fixing fertilizers. As a result, an increase in the proportion of biological nitrogen leads not only to a decrease in the anthropogenic load on the soil, but also to a decrease in energy consumption during the production of agricultural products. The latter, in turn, helps to reduce the cost and final prices of crops.

“Biological inoculants have been developed in different directions, their practical implementation is worth pursuing,” says Hero of Ukraine Oleksiy Vadatursky, CEO at Nibulon agricultural company, which purchases Terramax products. In order to achieve the desired effect and not to defame the developments in the field of biological products, it is necessary that inoculants are used locally by professionals. Our agricultural company uses inoculants, believing that they are the future."

For Ukrainian farmers, bio-nitrogen is especially relevant given the sky-high prices for gas and the used outdated energy-intensive technologies for the production of traditional nitrogen fertilizers. So, if one takes into account the main advantages of the liquid inoculant for processing corn seeds Micro AZ IF Liquid for Corn, then among them there are strains of bacteria Azospirillum Brasilence and Azospirillum Lipoferum, streamlining plant growth by improving nitrogen fixation, stimulating rooting, and, ultimately, increasing in yield.

“We are completely satisfied with the results of the use of inoculants in our fields,” says Leonid Makarovsky, chief agronomist at Uzinska Agrofirm. - We have received an increase on top of the already high harvest of this year, moreover, in the amount of more than 110 centners per hectare."

“Our experience shows that the use of an inoculant for maize brings several advantages at once, including the rapid formation of a powerful root system, as well as seed germination even under stressful conditions. We have become more independent of weather conditions and we are no longer afraid of either too dry or too rainy days, ”says Mykola Andrusenko, owner of ENAF MRIYA LLC.

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of biological nitrogen in such a trend as organic farming. The use of nitrogen-fixing biological products in plant growing is the most important condition for the cultivation of environmentally friendly crops. Suffice it to say that the use of traditional mineral nitrogen fertilizers in organic matter is generally unacceptable. Thus, biological nitrogen, in fact, is the main source of obtaining both increased (up to + 15-18%) and environmentally friendly yields.

Technology does not stand still. And if a few years ago farmers growing only soy could enjoy the effect of the use of inoculants, today the situation has changed dramatically. The opportunity to benefit from the use of inoculants has opened up for agricultural companies, regardless of what crops they grow: soybeans, cereals or corn. I really want to believe that Ukrainian agrarians will not miss their chance to increase yields.

Olga Barsukova

REFERENCE

Currently, Terramax Ukraine offers agricultural producers 6 biological products registered in Ukraine:

MAXIMIZE, liquid nitrogen-fixing inoculant for soybeans, biological product, microorganism culture.
TerraMax Dry, dry nitrogen-fixing inoculant for soybeans, biological product, microorganism culture.
Micro AZ IF Liquid for Corn, liquid nitrogen fixing inoculant for corn.
Micro AZ ST Wheat Liquid, liquid nitrogen-fixing inoculant for wheat, biological product, microorganism culture.
Micro AZ ST Dry for Wheat, dry nitrogen-fixing inoculant for wheat, biological product, microorganism culture.
PSB Liquid, liquid, phosphorus-mobilizing inoculant for grain crops, biological product, microorganism culture.