The root of the problem: choose Bridgeway/Zonda to help crops put their legs down
Have your winter crops been sat in cold, waterlogged soils? Seeking the best start to spring crop establishment? As UK growers struggle to recover from one of the wettest autumn/winter seasons on record, the use of amino acid biostimulants could be the key to building resilience in crops battling to find their legs, whilst ensuring a stress free start to maximise returns.
Root restoration
After an unprecedented and exceptionally wet start to winter cropping, conditions have thankfully turned much drier, and with it, root remedial action is now essential to help crops battling to find their legs.
Regardless of whether waterlogged crops have dried out since, cereal crops which have been sat in water are likely to have suffered significant root damage over the long winter months. High moisture levels reduce the plant’s first impulse to grow a deep root system for itself – needed to anchor the plant in place and ensure sufficient nutrient and moisture uptake from depth when soils dry out.
As crop growth starts to accelerate in warmer conditions, access to much needed moisture and nutrients through the roots will be critical. Maintaining tiller numbers will also be important to help maximise the final head count, and retain as much of the yield as possible. In barley, this is even more critical due to the direct correlation between tiller numbers and ear numbers.
Whilst there are a lot of stressed looking crops out there that could do with a pick-me-up, biostimulants Bridgeway (and Zonda), will help struggling crops to get back on their feet by helping to restore root systems and build tiller health; improve metabolic efficiency; and improve nutrient uptake.
Certified to organic standards, Bridgeway and Zonda are unique biostimulants that will help plants to recover and build resilience to further abiotic stress in order to protect yield potential.
Spring forward
And it’s not just winter cropping where biostimulants can be beneficial, helping to get spring crops off to the best possible start, is also where they could be highly valuable, particularly as temperatures now rise and soils dry.
How Bridgeway and Zonda can help
Bridgeway and Zonda are the key to helping plants overcome the effects of environmental stress, proven to promote vitality during establishment, optimise metabolic efficiency and work in harmony with nature to produce a healthy, high-yielding crop. Still relatively new on the market, we’re just beginning to understand how they should be used for best affect.
Amino acids are essential for plant health. The building blocks of all living cells, amino acids combine in infinite variations to produce various proteins essential for healthy growth and development. Under ideal conditions, plants synthesise all 18 L-amino acids, using carbon and oxygen in the air, hydrogen from water and nitrogen from the soil. This is what makes soil quality and nutrient density so important to overall plant health. Where conditions are poor, these raw materials can leach away in the soil or become inaccessible to the plant. Where plants aren’t getting what they need from their environment, we believe working with biostimulants is the best way to break the cycle. A biostimulant acts like a supplement until the crop can start production again making them crucial stress-busting tools.
Applied ahead of or just after stress conditions, is the best approach for maximum gain. Bridgeway and Zonda can be used to stimulate root and shoot growth to optimise root systems and tiller health, nurse struggling crops to recover from abiotic stress, and help crops build resilience to further stress, so healthy growth and development can continue.
Advantages of Bridgeway / Zonda
- All 18 L-isomer amino acids needed by plants, 100% plant sourced and produced to food grade quality
- Approved for use in organic crops. Vegan, vegetarian, GM free and suitable for all end markets
- The best amino acid biostimulant on the market. Highest increases in root and shoot growth of all biostimulants tested at The University of Nottingham in 2019 research study, when compared to Calibra Carbo, Terrasorb, and AminoA Flo in Cereals and Oilseed Rape
Statistically significant increases in rooting over AminoA Flo
Statistically significant increases in shoot growth over Calibra Carbo and Terrasorb
Getting the most from Bridgeway / Zonda
Through a combination of extensive on-farm trials, replicated trials and research carried out in association with the University of Nottingham, we’ve been able to explore how applying Bridgeway / Zonda to different crops at different times can help you maximise the following benefits.
Faster establisment
Bridgeway and Zonda contain high levels of rooting peptides and L-Tryptophan, essential for root health. Research studies conducted in 2018 and 2019 in wheat, barley and oilseed rape, have consistently shown significant increases in root and shoot growth from early applications.
In winter wheat – The average increase in rooting from 3 studies was +41% at 1.0 L/ha and 60% at 2.0 L/ha. Shoot growth increased by +24% at 1.0 L/ha and +32% at 2.0 L/ha.
In spring barley – The average increase in rooting was +33% at 1.0 L/ha and +41% at 2.0 L/ha. Shoot growth increased by +10% at 1.0 L/ha and +15% at 2.0 L/ha.
In winter oilseed rape – The average increase in rooting from 4 studies was +63% at 1.0 L/ha and +68% at 2.0 L/ha. Shoot growth increased by +25% at 1.0 L/ha and +47% at 2.0 L/ha.
With improved root growth, crops are also better placed to access the moisture and nutrients needed from depth. Leaf analysis on farm in a range of crops has proven that Bridgeway and Zonda can increase the uptake of macro and micro nutrients – great to lend a helping hand to established crops coming out of winter, and for spring crops to optimise uptake at establishment. Containing high levels of amino acids L-Glycine and L-Glutamic Acid, Bridgeway/Zonda can bind nutrients, making them more accessible to the crop and improving overall plant health.
Stress tolerance
In stressed conditions – Improvements in root and shoot growth were even greater under nutrient, drought or temperature stress.
Bridgeway significantly increased root and shoot growth in stressed Wheat
In stressed Wheat study, Bridgeway root benefits were clear to see
Higher metabolic efficiency
Bridgeway / Zonda contains high levels of key amino acids L-Glycine and L-Glutamic Acid, critical to the production of chlorophyll required for the absorption of light energy and photosynthesis. Brix readings taking in farm trials have shown that Bridgeway / Zonda treated crops photosynthesise at a higher rate and are therefore metabolising fitter and faster.
The result? Vital and healthy crops, better placed to fight off the effects of crop stress in order to protect yield and quality potential.
Recommendations 2020
When it comes to getting the very best from your biostimulants, application timing is everything. With results measured across 62 cereal crop trials over 3 years, we have ascertained that biostimulant benefits in cereals do not always translate into yield. In a cereal crop with a good root system with good availability to moisture and nutrients, there is not really the need to supplement the crop. However, in a crop with a poor root system, restricted access to moisture and nutrients, or a stressed crop, most certainly there is a benefit, and the biggest yield and margin gains will be achieved when the biostimulant applications has preceded a stress situation.
Our advice for 2020 is to tailor any Interagro amino acid biostimulant applications in cereals and oilseed rape to the field situation, rather than prescribing a standard programme. Ideally the applications should be applied just before the stress period in order to supplement amino acid and peptides as crop production slows. We know that peptides can aid recovery and therefore if you’ve not been able to get Bridgeway / Zonda on before a stress event, applications should be made immediately after.
In root crops and vegetables we’ve seen routine benefits in early applied programmes to the crop, with strong margin payback. For more information on Bridgeway / Zonda performance in cereals, root and vegetable crops, take a look at some of our case studies below or get in touch with us to chat through your own specific situation – we’d be happy to help.
Application timings by crop and how to use
If you’re looking for information on recommendations for specific crops and how to use Bridgeway/Zonda, please go to the respective product page and request a product guide. We’ll get a copy of our Technical Guide right over to you.
