ProveN-40os Corn Yield Data - 2024

                                                                                                            December 2024

Performance of ProveN-40 – N.Dakota and western Minnesota

2024 Weather Recap

The 2024 growing season will go into the agricultural history books as a very favorable year for crop production in the Far Northern Plains – even a record best year for many farm operations when strictly evaluating crop yields.  Of course, there will be exceptions – especially as you travel into western North Dakota and eastern Montana where seasonal rainfall fell below average.  However, when you look at central North Dakota and east, the spring and summer bordered on too much rain and then ultimately it was another dry and warm finish to the season after mid-August.

Despite these drier conditions and above average temperatures during the last two months of the growing season, crops flourished – spring wheat, barley, sugarbeets, soybeans and corn.  It was very surprising to most agriculturists that nitrogen didn’t play more of role in determining crop yields – especially in fields that produced 15-25% or more above average yields.  Nitrogen loss was predicted to be strong during the spring, and early summer months, and there were not ample widespread opportunities for side-dress nitrogen applications due to the wet weather.  By the end of the season, many predicted there must have been way above average mineralization to feed the strong yield levels.

The above picture comes from Iowa State University Extension and does highlight the fact that most of eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota did indeed benefit from increased nitrogen mineralization rates during the middle of the summer – often providing between 0.5 to a full 1.0 lb of N/ac per day (other timelines from this website revealed similar performance during the entire months of July and August).  If we figure 60 days at an estimated average of 0.67 lbs N/ac per day, it equates to 40 lbs N/ac mineralized in just those two months alone during the 2024 growing season!  ( https://crops.extension.iastate.edu/facts/soil-n-mineralization )

Trial Yield Data

PivotBio’s 2024 farmer scale strip trials within the region entailed working closely with the farm manager to implement two nitrogen zones within the field – a grower standard practice “Full N” zone and a “Reduced N” zone which varied from 20-45 lbs/ac less nitrogen depending on field parameters (soil type, variability, farm manager comfort level, and irrigation potential primarily).  At planting, farm managers implemented a split-planter arrangement with ProveN-40 treated seed on one half of the planter and the other half implementing the same hybrid untreated.  The result was four treatments: P-40 microbes at Full N, untreated check (UTC) at Full N, P-40 microbes at a Reduced Rate of nitrogen, and a UTC at the same Reduced Rate of nitrogen.

Throughout 20 locations in west central Minnesota and eastern North Dakota, corn treated with ProveN-40 had par performance (-0.4 bu/ac) with an average reduction of 38.5 pounds of synthetic nitrogen when compared to the Full N and untreated. Most all locations were within parity yield (+/-3 bu/ac), revealing that ProveN-40 consistently replaces synthetic nitrogen. Six locations saw an increase in yield above the 3 bu/ac benchmark, most likely from significant early season N loss due to heavy rainfall.  On the other hand, five locations saw the UTC perform better than the 3 bu/ac benchmark.

Many farm managers like to utilize ProveN-40 in addition to their full nitrogen program.  In these 15 comparisons in west central Minnesota and eastern North Dakota, corn treated with ProveN-40 averaged 6.5 bu/ac better than the UTC.  Ten of the 14 locations showed greater than 3 bu/ac additional yield confirming significant N losses most likely occurred during the first half of the growing season.  The remaining five locations had yields even to only a couple bu/ac better, indicating nitrogen was most likely not the most limiting factor and more nitrogen did not bring significant additional yield in these locations. 

Data Summary AND Best Management Practices

At first glance, the data may seem to lack in providing a significant booming first impression, but we must keep in mind PivotBio’s value guarantee to the customer – replace bulky inefficient salty synthetic nitrogen with ProveN-40 microbes in corn production (keeping input costs flat) and maintain yields at minimum when compared to Full N treatments.  If we analyze these results with that in mind, there are many positive take home messages to build our confidence:

·         Most fields (15 of 20 or 75%) showed at minimum a corn yield parity (+/- 3.0 bu/ac) with PivotBio’s ProveN-40 at reduced nitrogen rates over Full N untreated checks – a fairly strong win rate!

·         In comparisons where ProveN-40 and the untreated check were compared at Full N rates, ProveN-40 did add significant additional yield – +6.5 bu/ac indicating that nitrogen loss was high early in the season (probably more of a seasonal response than expected long term normal performance data)

·         2024 was a season where higher than average daily mineralization rates did occur during July and August.  The wet June, July and early August most likely moved a lot of synthetic nitrogen, but mineralized nitrogen made up much of the difference and more

·         The majority of field data supports the implementation of a nitrogen reduction to capture the maximum economic ROI using PivotBio’s ProveN-40.  Some fields may see the best ROI at reduced nitrogen rates in the 20-35 lbs/ac nitrogen range if they are prone to very high nitrogen losses

·         Fields with high variability regarding soil type, water holding capacity, soil salinity, topography, base fertility levels, and yield potential normally show stronger responses to microbial nitrogen from P-Bio

·         Also, fields prone to lose more nitrogen than average (high water table, sandy soils, over saturated soil conditions, and/or flooding susceptible) are also candidates to benefit from microbial nitrogen

·         PivotBio agronomists recommended that nitrogen reductions come from large pre-plant urea or anhydrous applications with all other fertility additions held constant – Phos, Potash, Sulfur, Zinc, etc.

·         PivotBio products are designed to maximize nitrogen availability for yields, minimize nitrogen loss to the environment, and maximize ROI to the customer.  The data may not reveal full achievement of all these goals in all situations, but the majority of the years in the majority of fields, PivotBio products will perform equal to or better than synthetic nitrogen

·         Why do PivotBio microbes perform better than native “wild-type” microbes??  Simply put, PivotBio scientist's gene-edit the microbes to obtain more consistent nitrogen fixation, nitrogen excretion, and stress tolerance to more reliably perform for added nitrogen efficiency

·         Lastly, nitrogen is very unpredictable – it is highly likely growers and consultants have and will continue to experience inconsistent synthetic nitrogen performance from year to year and field to field.  Recent studies are showing synthetic nitrogen loss in the 50% plus range in replicated environments.  https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.2136/sssaj2019.04.0098 https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/saj2.20503

·         Today’s farmers do an excellent job of minimizing crop production risk with rotating of crops, rotation of pesticides, and seeding genetically diverse varieties and hybrids.  Now, we have an additional tool in place for managing risk around synthetic nitrogen performance as well 

·         Contact your PivotBio representative to learn more.