Skip the Fungicides, Focus on Foliar Feeding Corn, Soybeans

    Looking for an effective way to control Goss’s Wilt, tar spot, wireworms, grubs and other yield robbers, without having to rely only on chemicals? It’s time to try foliar feeding with chitosan for healthier plants.
    “We’re seeing more farmers use foliars to fine-tune their fertilization strategies,” said Dennis Klockenga, a Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) and crop management consultant with ProfitProAG. “The right foliars also help suppress disease and insect pests. All this maximizes yield potential.”
    Bob Henderson admits he was pretty skeptical when he first heard about this. “It seems like everyone’s tuned into what the chemical companies are saying, so that’s what you listen to,” said Henderson, who raises corn, soybeans, hay, and cattle with his three sons (Aaron, Adam, and Andy) near Albia, Iowa.
    Henderson needs to protect his crop against late-season diseases like Northern corn leaf blight. He was a strong proponent of using a brand-name fungicide in-furrow, which gave him a yield boost.
    The Hendersons work closely with ProfitProAG, though, whose team takes a different approach. “We learned you can’t keep plants healthy if you kill all the beneficial organisms in the soil, like the helpful fungus,” Henderson said. “Things are screwed up if you need to rely on fungicides.”
    This also applies to insecticides. It can be tough to move away from a chemical approach, said Henderson, who has faced challenges with insect pests. “I’ve lost crops to wireworms,” said Henderson, who says these issues can be more pronounced on no-till acres. “The wireworms would go right down the row.”
    Henderson credits his sons with encouraging him to try a biological approach, rather than in-furrow insecticides. The family worked with ProfitProAG to add a starter with chitosan, followed by foliar feeding. These solutions worked.
    That paradigm shift to a biological approach to crop management made sense to Henderson when he thought about the difference between crop protection and plant health. He figured it was better to keep the crop healthy in the first place, instead of trying to fix problems after they started.
    Various management strategies, from cereal rye cover crops to good in-furrow and foliar programs from ProfitProAG, make a big difference on the Henderson farm today. The family hasn’t used fungicides on corn for three years now, with no major issues.
    “We might get a little tar spot here and there, but there’s no total devastation,” said Henderson, who hasn’t used fungicides or insecticides on soybeans for two years. “We’re also getting life back into the soil. We have a lot more nightcrawlers in our fields.”

Suppress harmful insects, diseases the natural way
    Klockenga works closely with the Hendersons to tailor foliar-feeding solutions to their farm’s needs. “Foliar feeding is an efficient way to supply key nutrients at critical growth stages,” noted Klockenga, who includes BioEnergy™+ in Henderson’s crop management system.
    BioEnergy™+ offers a unique blend of sugars, molasses, chitosan, yucca, natural nutrient compounds, microbials, and more. It provides energy and nutrition to the developing crop, plus it maximizes the plants’ ability to overcome in-season stresses.
    The Hendersons use BioImpact™+ with BioEnergy™+. Chitosan, a key component of BioImpact+, helps break down chitin for greater insect and disease suppression.
    “You know that crunching noise you hear when you step on certain insects, like wireworms?” Klockenga asked. “That’s the exoskeleton, and you can break it down. That’s what chitosan does.”
    Beneficial bacteria and fungi that are helpful to agriculture don’t have chitin-based membranes, but harmful microbes do have chitin-based membranes, Klockenga said. “That’s why chitosan is so powerful in crop production. It works because of basic biology.”

Top tips for corn foliar feeding
    BioEnergy™+ and BioImpact+ also work with basic biology to improve plant vigor and extend the growing season by helping crops stay greener longer.
    Did you know 50% of corn’s test weight is accumulated in the last 30 days before harvest? “When plants die prematurely, it means they ran out of energy,” said Jim Ladlie, founder and CEO of ProfitProAG. “If a plant dies in early September, you’re likely leaving 25 to 30 bushels per acre on the table.”
    To avoid these challenges and set your crop up for success, there are three key times to plan for foliar feeding with corn, including:

• V5 to V6, when the ear girth is determined.
• V8 to V10, when the plant determines the length of the corn ears.
• Right before tassel. Klockenga recommends adding Bio Empruv G2 to the foliar application at this stage. Not only does it supply vital plant nutrients, but it’s designed to target the bacterium that causes Goss’s wilt in corn. Bio Empruv G2 can also help shield corn plants from secondary infections like tar spot.

    These foliar products can be applied with a sprayer or a drone. “There are also a variety of things we can apply with foliar feeding, including EnSoil Algae™,” Klockenga noted.
    ProfitProAG is a distributor for EnSoil Algae, a live-cell algae that can be tank-mixed and sprayed, either on the soil or through foliar applications. It helps improve grain quality, test weight and yield potential by helping unlock free fertilizer that’s already in the soil. EnSoil Algae has been shown to help farmers reduce their commercial fertilizer by a third or more.

Make the most of soybean foliar feeding
    EnSoil Algae and foliar feeding also benefit soybeans, Klockenga said. “Foliar feeding keeps the soybean plants healthy and going strong into the reproductive stage when the soybean plants flower.”
    Did you know that soybean plants naturally lose 60% to 75% of their flowers? Aborted flowers don’t grow into pods that produce soybeans. “What if your plants could hold onto more of those flowers—even 10% or 15% more?” Klockenga said. “That’s how you get more yield.”
    There are two main times to foliar feed soybeans, including:

• Before R1 (when the first soybean flowers appear in the field).
• R3. “This is when one of the top four nodes on the main stem has a pod about a quarter of an inch long,” said Klockenga, who added that a third foliar application can be made at R5.

ProfitProAG can help you make a plan

    While there are many benefits of foliar feeding, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. A custom-designed foliar program is an essential part of ProfitProAG’s 3-Phase Recipe for Success (which starts with Phase 1—fall residue management, followed by Phase 2—at plant). Phase III in season helps your crop stay green to the finish for maximum yield potential.
    The result is increased seed numbers, weight and nutrient density in grains. Forages show improved nutrient content, energy, taste, storability and reduced mycotoxins. “The Recipe for Success isn’t a cookie-cutter plan,” Klockenga said. “It’s tailored to your acres, whether you raise soybeans, corn, small grains, forages or cover crops.”
    Depending on a grower’s needs, Klockenga might recommend BioEnergy™+, BioImpact+, and/or YieldBooster™ 20-14-12-6. YieldBooster™, available as both a starter and foliar, is a soluble concentrate nutrient blend that includes key trace minerals and can be sprayed directly on the foliage. This safe, non-toxic product:

• Supplies a readily available source of N, P, K and trace elements
• Helps mitigate seasonal nutrient deficiencies
• Improves plant health and “stay green”
• Offers the lowest salt index on the market
• Boosts yield potential

    Since Foliar YieldBooster is acidic, it’s the same pH as the surface of the leaf, so there’s no burning of the foliage. This allows you to apply it any time of the day, regardless of moisture. Foliar YieldBooster is also easy to handle and store, and simple to mix and use.
    A custom-designed Recipe for Success program from ProfitProAG is an integral part of the Henderson family’s farming operation. “It requires a change in your mindset, but it’s worth it,” Bob Henderson said. “Now I look for ways I can quit using some crop protection products by focusing on the biology and plant health first.”
    Want to know more about how foliar feeding and ProfitProAG’s Recipe for Success can work for you? Contact Dennis Klockenga at 320-333-1608, or dklockenga@profitproag.com for more details.