Giovani Preza Fontes Email

Biological seed treatment is a growing market in the U.S., with several new products being available to growers every year. These products are marketed to increase grain yield and return on investment by the action of a single or a mix of plant-beneficial microbes (e.g., arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, N-fixing bacteria, and P-solubilizing microbes). Given high commodity prices, growers are interested in understanding the benefits of applying biological products to the seed. In 2022, we evaluated nine commonly marketed biological seed treatment products at two locations in Illinois.…

As the 2022 season winds down, farmers are thinking about their fertility program for the 2023 growing season. While fertilizer prices have declined since spring, fertilizer prices remain high, and fertilizer costs are significantly higher than a year ago (farmdoc daily, 12:148). With continued high fertilizer prices, making every pound of fertilizer count is essential. The most important thing to be as efficient as possible is reviewing a few principles related to soil fertility.…