PFISTER CORN HYBRID, PRODUCT #2574
COLORADO, US - OCTOBER, 2012
Corn cultivation in america covers over 100 million acres of land. It’s a major feedstock for the animal feed, food and fuel industries and consequently has received a tremendous amount of attention by the ag industries to make crops more robust and increase yields. Unfortunately however, despite genetic interventions and a plethora of chemical treatments, crop yields have plateaued far below industry expectations. In the mean time, soils suffering from harsh chemical treatments are becoming more vulnerable to diseases requiring even more chemical treatments and significant portions of land becoming fallow causing loss of revenue to farmers.
The following pictures were taken from a corn farm in northern Colorado. The primary goal of the demonstration was to show how a very basic and cost effective product like Micronomix which aims to balance micro and macro elements in the soil, can be used as a powerful soil preparation, allowing for greater germination rates, improved plant utilization of nutrients and significantly healthier plants.
A dedicated area of a crop was sectioned off to receive a single treatment of Micronomix at the start of the grow season. The liquid Micronomix was mixed together with a normal dosing of N-P-K and applied at the time of seeding in a single pass. The control crop received their normal N-P-K applications. The comparisons below are between the control group of corn grown by conventional methods versus corn grown treated with Micronomix.
OBSERVATIONS:
Plants who’s soils had been treated with Micronomix showed significantly healthier root systems, with almost 5 times the amount of capillary / feeder roots evident. A greater number of feeder roots means the plant is able to absorb more nutrients with less energy. This is also indicates a far healthier soil environment with fewer toxic exudates which would otherwise prevent root development. The kernel size and overall size cob in the Micronomix corn is obviously richer in color and larger in size. On average, Micronomix corn cobs were 15% heavier by weight. A brix test conducted on the treated and untreated corn shows a 71% increase in sugars in the Micronomix corn, indicating the treated corn will have better taste as well as having a higher caloric factor as a feedstock, consequently allowing for a faster growth rate in animals when used as a feed.
SUMMARY:
The benefits of addressing micro and macro elements in the soil are clearly demonstrated by the use of Micronomix. What has not been addressed in this particular case but seen in others is that plants that have been treated with Micronomix pit much later than conventionally grown plants. Therefore Micronomix plants will grow for longer, delaying harvesting if so required. Since Micronomix allows for a far greater utilization of nutrients in the soil, farmers are able to reduce their chemical inputs by up to 50% in three years. Crop rotation can be eliminated altogether and any previously fallow land can be returned to valuable cultivation centers. Areas prone to nematode infestations can also be easily controlled when Micronomix is used.