Fungicides and Microbes: Finding Balance

Share this post:

Are My Fungicides Messing with the Good (Microbes) Guys? – Badger Crop Network

Based on the article titled, Are My Fungicides Messing with the Good (Microbes) Guys?  based on the research from Badger Crop Network, and insights from our agronomy team, at Midwestern BioAg, we have found the following information.

Read more from the Badger Crop network HERE!

Soil Microbes Link Health to Yield 

The crop performance benefits f soil microbes are closely tied to microbial enzyme production and correlate with soil health, as measured by the KPIs of pH and organic matter composition.

Enzyme Levels Rebound by Harvest After Crop Protection

Reductions in short-term enzyme concentrations after crop protection applications are typical; however, they often reach a steady state by harvest once the rhizosphere has had sufficient time to develop fully.

Stabilizing Soil Health with Carbon-Based Biostimulants

Biostimulants such as Bio-Gel® and carbon-based dry fertilizers, ie. TerraNu® improves short-term and medium-term organic matter and pH compared to carbon-free liquid and dry fertilizers. The reported outcomes provide farmers with a strategy to mitigate the short-term fluctuations that can occur due to the use of stacked crop protection products.

Boosting Stress Tolerance Strengthens Crop Resilience and ROI

Improving a crop’s stress tolerance to short-term shifts in soil microbial communities provides the crop with additional resources and resiliency to combat additional environmental stressors, such as wet-dry cycles, temperature fluctuations, and wind. Ultimately, an improvement in abiotic stress tolerance increases the crop’s resistance to additional biotic stressors and is a win-win for farmers looking to improve their current ROI crop protection product and maintain season-long soil health.
Other Blogs

Building soil productivity with TerraNu® fertilizers can reduce nitrogen fertilizer demands by 20% or more

“TerraNu allows for more efficient recovery of nutrients and improved soil health, which are crucial with historically high input prices,” say Midwestern BioAg’s Director of Agronomy, Chris Kniffen. “For decades, carbon management has been a core part of Midwestern BioAg’s approach, enabling a 20%+ reduction in nitrogen applications for corn vs conventional practices. With TerraNu, we can enable the same approach for farmers across the country.”