New biological launched for early-season plant growth

CARY, N.C. – Verdesian Life Sciences announced a new biological growth enhancement liquid for all crops. Accolade, which contains Azospirillum brasilense – a well-studied, free-living, nitrogen-fixing bacteria – can increase root development and secondary lateral root systems, leading to increased nutrient uptake and higher yields.

“The really neat thing about Accolade is it’s a rhizobacteria which means it doesn’t inhabit a nodule so it can be used with all crops,” said Kurt Seevers, technology development manager, Verdesian. “In furrow or on the seed, it grows alongside the roots as they expand. The plant provides nutrition for the bacteria and, in exchange, the rhizobacteria in Accolade produce nitrogen.”

Especially with corn, Accolade supports young root systems with early access to nitrogen, giving them time to grow into nitrogen that is applied later in the season or incorporated into the soil.

“This was our first year working with Accolade on corn,” said Cody Ray, agronomist for Henry Farmer Cooperative in Murray, Ky. “We used it as a starter in-furrow, putting it on as we planted and saw a 7.6 bushels per acre advantage over the control group. We really saw a huge difference compared to the corn beside it, especially when it came to root mass. And, in this drought year, I think that helped us because the roots were reaching down and getting more water and getting more nutrients.”

In addition to giving growers flexibility in how it’s applied, Accolade performs well as a stand-alone product and is nearly universally compatible with other fungicide and insecticide treatments.

What’s more, Accolade has demonstrated years of in-field performance in Canada on a number of crops, including pulses, cereals and soybeans, bolstering plant performance in stressed conditions.

“If you don’t start the season right by giving young plants access to nitrogen, you won’t have a good stand, you can’t make up for that loss once the crop is up and growing,” Seevers said. “As a recognized, free-living nitrogen-fixer, Accolade is very beneficial early in the season because it allows plants to establish themselves and grow better getting out of the ground with better vigor.”