02 July 2024

A unique biostimulant developed by Corteva Agriscience has shown in grower trials how it can boost yields in a wide range of crops including potatoes, wine grapes, onions and wombok, by providing a season-long source of supplemental nitrogen with just one application.

Utrisha® N is a naturally occurring bacteria, Methylobacterium symbioticum, that lives within the plant and converts atmospheric nitrogen to plant-available ammonium.

Plants are colonised by Utrisha N through a foliar application and this can occur in as little as three days depending on temperature and species. This conversion process uses no plant energy and one application lasts for a full growing season.

Corteva Agriscience Plant Health Manager, Dan Cornally, said Utrisha N is the result of years of research and development.

“Utrisha N has been brought to market backed by Corteva’s rigorous development standards and numerous field trials locally and around the world in order to demonstrate its effectiveness in a wide variety of crops,” Mr Cornally said.

“It is now available in Australia and will be the first offering in our new range of plant health products which provide innovative solutions for growers.”

Mr Cornally said Utrisha N offered a new nitrogen management strategy for horitculturalists and viticulturalists.

“Conventional nitrogen fertilisers can be challenging for growers to manage yield and quality,” he said.

“Utrisha N converts aerial nitrogen to ammonium and when applied at the appropriate growth stage allows growers to hedge against unseasonal conditions because Utrisha® N will be in crop and proving some level of nitrogen.”

Grower demonstration results

Alongside successful field trials in wheat and canola, grower demonstrations have been conducted in crops including potatoes, wine grapes, onions and wombok.

At an onion trial site in Lockyer Valley, Queensland, Utrisha N was applied at 333g/ha at the four-to-six leaf stage in conjunction with a standard fertiliser program of Preplant NPK blend, followed by in-crop soluble potassium nitrate and micronutrient program. Brown onion yield increased by 22.5% and red onion by 10%, compared to onions subject to the standard fertiliser program.

In a trial in organic potatoes in Lockyer Valley, Utrisha N was applied at 333g/ha in conjunction with a standard organic fertiliser program of organic soil ameliorants. Potato yield increased by 8.3% compared to the standard organic fertiliser program, with more uniform tuber set and sizing, increasing marketable yield. This potentially helps processing efficiency due to the consistency of potato size.

At Stanthorpe, a grower trial in Wombok returned an increase yield of 9% compared to a standard fertiliser program when 333g/ha of Utrisha N was applied at the four-leaf stage and in conjunction with a standard fertiliser program.

Mr Cornally said that, as a grower demonstration, it is important to understand the information was unable to be statistically analysed.

Flexibility in Nitrogen Management

The ability to mix Utrisha N with many crop inputs means an application can be built into a field management program that has been planned for that crop. Farmers and agronomists can plan how best to manage the rest of the nutrition program that needs to be applied to the crop to maximise the yield and quality.

“There are also environmental programs being implemented which reward growers for reducing their inputs and/or improving sustainability,” Mr Cornally said.

“Utrisha N may have a beneficial role to play in those programs and we will continue to work with growers to help them achieve their sustainability goals and understand if this is an appropriate way for their operation to use the product.”

Find out more or speak to your local Nutrien Ag Solutions agronomist.

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