Nutrients when they’re needed the most

With higher fertilizer prices and concerns about supply, there’s increased interest in foliar nutrition this growing season—when to use it, how it works and what benefits it brings when added to other applications.

MFA’s Gold Advantage foliar nutrition products are formulated to use on soybeans, corn and small grains. Gold Advantage formulations contain nitrogen, sulfur, zinc, magnesium, iron, manganese, molybdenum and copper. Let’s look at what each nutrient does for the plant.

Sulfur aids in seed production, helps with chlorophyll formation and is an integral part of the plant’s amino acids. Zinc also aids in formation of seed and plays a role in plant growth hormone production. Boron contributes to pollination— more specifically in pollen tube growth—as well as seed and cell wall formation. Iron also promotes formation of chlorophyll.

Molybdenum helps enzymes convert nitrogen to a usable form. Manganese helps with digestion of glyphosate and is an activator for at least 35 different enzymes. Magnesium also contributes to chlorophyll formation and improves mobility and utilization of phosphorus. Copper functions in photosynthesis and seed development.

How does Gold Advantage help maximize plant health benefits and ultimately yields? First, we need sound soil fertility. Once the field’s fertility is on point, application timing is how we best realize the plant health benefits of these products. We want to feed our crops foliar nutrition when it’s needed the most in their growth.

Gold Advantage Complete is designed for corn and soybeans. We recommend application when post-emergence herbicides are being sprayed, so we can include Gold Advantage in that pass. Typically, that’s V4 to V6 in corn and V3 and V5 in soybeans. Healthier plants at that growth stage sets the plant up for maximum yield.

Gold Advantage Trend-B is our nitrogen foliar product that contains added boron. Its analysis is 24-0-0-1B. We recommend 1 gallon per acre, which delivers 2.4 units of nitrogen and 0.1 unit of boron. Just like Gold Advantage Complete, Trend-B promotes plant heath and maximizes yield. And we use timing to do that.

Both in corn and soybeans, we recommend adding Trend-B with a fungicide application. Timing should be R1 to R2 on corn and R3 to R4 on soybeans. Corn is pollinating during that time, and it is vital to mitigate stress. We can achieve stress relief with a combination of fungicide and Trend-B. Fungicide makes the plant healthier which, for lack of a better term, makes it hungry. Adding Trend-B provides readily available nitrogen for the plant. The added boron in Trend-B also helps with pollination and seed development.

In soybeans, we want to hit that R3-R4 timing for a different reason. During this stage, the plant is setting pods and starting to fill the seed, and boron helps with that. But what is also going on in a soybean’s life? Nodulation is slowing down. That means nitrogen production is also slowing down. Providing available nitrogen at this critical time boosts plant health and helps maximize yields—the ultimate goal in crop production.

Gold Advantage foliar nutrition products cannot replace typical fertilizer applications, but they aid in plant efficiency. They’re simply more tools in the toolbox. Check with your MFA agronomist for more details on how Gold Advantage Complete and Trend-B can benefit your crops this season.