ADM Launches Crop Biostimulant
ADM announced the introduction of its new agricultural biostimulant that boosts corn yields by improving nutrient use efficiency. In multiyear trials hosted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, NeoVita 43 biostimulant, plus with liquid starter fertilizer, increased corn yields up to seven bushels/acre versus starter fertilizer alone.
“NeoVita 43 can help farmers capture more value from available nutrients by supercharging microbial activity in the rhizosphere, thereby making more nutrients accessible to plants,” said Graig Whitehead, ADM director of biologicals and new technology. “For farmers using liquid in-furrow treatments at planting, this offers an easy and cost-effective way to boost yields and optimize fertilizer use efficiency.”
NeoVita 43 is formulated to closely mimic the plant root exudate that supports soil microbial activity to promote nutrient availability and uptake by the plant. By increasing the availability of these key nutrients to the soil microbiome early in the growing season, developing plants can increase nutrient uptake and get off to a stronger start, which can lead to higher yields.
ADM collaborated with the University of Illinois to design, implement and analyze research trials to evaluate the performance of NeoVita 43. In every trial across multiple years and locations, NeoVita 43 boosted yields over the untreated check when used alone or with starter fertilizer. Following this consistently positive performance, ADM expanded testing efforts to precommercial on-farm trials with ADM Fertilizer customers in 2022.
“The University of Illinois has been collaborating for multiple years with ADM and others to test biostimulant products to help ensure their efficacy,” said Fred Below, Ph.D., professor of plant physiology, University of Illinois. “Biostimulant products like NeoVita 43 – ones’ whose performance claims can be validated by third-party data – show great promise to help improve the sustainability of farming by improving use of available nutrients and increasing yields.”
The new biostimulant can be applied with liquid starter fertilizer at planting and does not require additional mixing or special handling. It will be available in 275-gallon totes through ADM Farm Direct Fertilizer and participating ag retailers. The MSRP is expected to be less than $8 per acre.
ADM anticipates expanding university testing in 2023 to evaluate the opportunity for NeoVita 43 in other crops. The company is also developing additional proprietary biostimulant blends to further boost yields and agricultural sustainability.
