New Water-Use Management Tool For Commercial Crops
Water availability is fundamental to crop production, and in the last few years farmers have seen widely varying degrees of moisture available during the growing season – both too much and too little.
Helena is offering a new product, Resgenix, that can help row-crop growers address the latter. The product can help farmers manage the water available to crops to optimize its use, says Austin Anderson, brand manager of adjuvants and water management products for Helena.
“Whether you're on dryland acres – where you've got to maximize your rainfall events that you get throughout the year – or you’re using irrigation and want to run the pivot a little less and get more out of your water, Resgenix is a tool to help you do that,” Anderson says.
How It Works
Resgenix works by coating soil particles. The process can help improve aggregation in all soil types – strengthening water-holding capacity and mitigating erosion, run-off and soil moisture evaporation loss.
“On sandy ground where the gaps between soil particles can be really big, Resgenix reduces the space between the particles,” Anderson says. “In a heavier soil type or in clay-based soils, it helps create more space between soil particles, so plants get the benefit of the moisture that is available.”
In either dryland crops or in those under irrigation, the idea is to make available moisture work harder longer. In crops grown under irrigation, for instance, Anderson says Helena is seeing farmers commonly use 20% less water and produce the same crop yields at harvest.
Flexible Application
The standard use rate for Resgenix, which is in a liquid formulation, is a half-gallon of product per acre. The product has no cropping restrictions for use, requires no special equipment for application and has no application timing restrictions.
During an interview at Commodity Classic, Anderson outlined what he anticipates will be some of the common application timings for Resgenix use in corn and soybeans.
“When you consider how important it is for standardized emergence of corn, Resgenix is a good fit for use at planting,” he says. “Post-emergence timing, when you’re making a herbicide application is also a good fit. Another good opportunity is when the plant is deciding the number of kernels, both around and down the ear, and then at tassel or shortly thereafter to help with grain fill and to finish out the crop.”
For use in soybeans, Anderson says a key time to consider using Resgenix would be behind the planter at planting to help make sure the crop emerges and gets a strong start. Another key time for consideration would be during reproductive stages or about R3.
More information is available at helenaagria.com
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