Canadian farmers now have access to a new biological source of nitrogen for their crops. Utrisha N from Corteva Agriscience is a foliar-applied nutrient-efficiency biostimulant that makes nitrogen from the air accessible to the plant all season long.
“Utrisha N is a living biological that provides a continuous, sustainable supply of nitrogen to the crop,” says Kirsten Ratzlaff, Product Manager with Corteva. “It continuously captures nitrogen gas in the air and converts it to usable nitrogen for the plant, ensuring it is available throughout that plant’s life.”
Nitrogen makes up almost 78 per cent of the Earth’s atmosphere so it’s a logical nutrient source. However, the challenge has always been how to fix it in the plant. The bacteria in Utrisha N can extract nitrogen naturally from the atmosphere and create a constant supply of amino acids to the plant. They survive on carbon, a natural byproduct of the plant.
“We saw a nice yield bump, even with the drought.”
Nicole Philp, Corteva
Utrisha N is sprayed directly onto the plant material where it enters the plant through stomata — microscopic openings or pores in the epidermis of leaves and young stems. It then colonizes the plant at high populations and does the heavy lifting, requiring no extra energy from the plant.
Ratzlaff stresses that Utrisha N provides a supplemental source of nitrogen, and that traditional nitrogen fertilizer will still be a critical part of farming in Canada. But Utrisha N steps in where traditional fertilizer falters. Soil-applied N is often not available to the plant when it is needed, and there is a risk of it leaching to the water table or releasing additional greenhouse gases from volatilization or denitrification.
“We want to reduce the dependence on a single nitrogen source,” says Ratzlaff. “It’s important for growers to take a close look at their fertilizer program and make sure nitrogen is not a limiting factor in the life cycle of their crop.”
The results are in
Utrisha N was registered in the spring of 2021 and Corteva engaged in an extensive field trial program throughout the 2021 growing season before launching the product in the fall. It was tested in more than 200 trials over 100 different sites on canola and wheat in Western Canada, and on corn across the country.
“The trial program backed up that for healthy, growing plants, Utrisha N helped supply nitrogen throughout the crop cycle,” says Nicole Philp, Market Development Specialist, with Corteva. “This is a supplement to a grower’s initial fertilizer applied before the crop has emerged, to provide balanced nutrition to the plant as long as possible.”
Philp says that while Corteva staff were confident the biological was completely understood and they had the rate and timing optimized, they wanted to demonstrate this to customers. She says they were pleased to see that despite the very dry conditions, they were able to see the benefits of a Utrisha N application across the Prairies.
“We saw a nice yield bump, even with the drought,” says Philp. “There was a 1.3 average bushel per acre yield advantage for canola growers who applied Utrisha N, delivering a positive yield response 69% of the time. We are excited to see what happens when the season isn’t so limited by water.”
The average yield increase in spring and durum wheat was 1.1 bu/ac, with a positive yield increase in 67% of trials. Similarly in corn trials across Canada, the average yield increase was 2.2 with a positive yield response 63% of the time.
Application
Utrisha N is applied at a rate of 135 grams per acre, once per season. It should be applied to healthy, growing crops. Full foliar cover is critical because it is not active in the soil, so attention to coverage is important.
The application stage depends on the crop. For canola, Utrisha N should be applied at the four-leaf to rosette stage, before stem elongation. For all types of cereals, optimal timing is the four-leaf jointing stage. For soybeans and corn, Utrisha N should be applied at the V4 to V8 stage.
Utrisha N has a long list of supported tank mix partners, and it can also be applied on its own. The powder formulation mixes easily into solution. Water with chlorine levels of less than 2 ppm are ideal, and a pH level between pH5-pH8 to allow the bacteria to grow. It should be applied early in the day when the highest number of stomata are open for nutrient uptake.
“Nitrogen is such an important part of farming,” says Philp. “But growers are looking at how to apply it more efficiently without leaving their crop vulnerable to nutrient loss. Utrisha N adds nitrogen without contributing to nutrient loss.”
The product is the first in Corteva’s planned global launch of a portfolio of biologicals to help meet the company’s sustainability goals. “Corteva is committed to introducing a greater biological platform in the coming years,” says Philp. These will include more biostimulants, products for biocontrol and pheromones.
Utrisha N can promote better yield, quality and productivity through improved nitrogen management. For more information, see your local retailer or talk to your local Corteva representative.
