With three modes of action to increase nitrogen use efficiency, N-Finity from Loveland Products is now available at Nutrien Ag Solutions retail locations.
The introduction of N-Finity is an extension of Nutrien’s “purpose-built approach” to biologicals, and it brings three ways to improve nitrogen management in a single product and application.
As Ron Calhoun, Senior Portfolio Manager for Plant Nutrition at Nutrien Ag Solutions, explains with its three modes of action—N-Finity is elevating how Loveland Products can further nutrient use efficiency.
- For fixation, nitrogen fixing isolates target free associated nitrogen in the soil’s pore space.
- For recruitment of increased biological activity, a signal response mechanism recruits more plant associated nitrogen fixers.
- For uptake of organic nitrogen, a purpose-built metabolite targets liberation of organic pools of nitrogen in the soil for greater mineralization.
“What this product offers is multiple ways nitrogen can be made available–nitrogen fixation, a robust microbial community, and liberating the soil organic nitrogen,” he says. “And it’s a robust formulation that can be tank mixed with standard practices of today.”
N-Finity tank mixes with at-plant nutrition for 2x2 or in furrow application with, depending on a grower’s program, approximately 1 quart per acre rate. The product is currently exclusively available via Nutrien Ag Solutions retailers.
“We are placing N-Finity into a nitrogen management system,” he says. “From our research, we are thinking N-Finity can even out humps and valleys in the field. If there’s an area where it would be yield limiting due to nitrogen, we can bring it up to the rest of field.”
Compatible crops include corn, soybeans, and wheat.
“N-Finity is a good fit for early adopters and those with aggressive yield goals,” Calhoun says. “The biological space is offering new tools, and it’s not going away. Trying a product such as N-Finity can add a leg to the stool in how growers are managing their nitrogen.”
Calhoun explains, the formulation has been in development by Loveland Products to precisely match the product specifications. It builds on previous product launches, however offers a first-of-its-kind biological nitrogen management solution.
“We introduced Accomplish in 2011 as our first breakthrough product in the biological nutrient management space, which was a post-biotic with cofactors and metabolites doing the work in the soil,” he says. “Our first commercial probiotic was Prologue, which was introduced in 2018, and used isolates combined with metabolites for two modes of action.”
Calhoun credits advances in technology helping to identify the successful candidates in biological products quicker and with more accuracy for their robustness.
“More than ever, we can measure the potential biological candidates with how they’ll perform in transport, in tank mixes, and in particular environments,” he says. “And we can confirm the benefits we are seeing from applying these isolates by measuring the abundance in the soil.”
He adds, “In the early 80s, the nitrogen use per bushel of corn was around 2.2 lb., now the national average is closer to 1.1. Products like N-FINITY are going to help drive nitrogen use efficiency even further.”
“We are focused on trying to improve overall nutrient use efficiency, and we’ve made tremendous gains in the past 45 years. It’s exciting to think about where we are heading. We think N-Finity helps represent the next generation of innovation.”
