One new product that intrigues Beuerlein is Initiate. Instead of an inoculant, it is a chemical attractant that triggers or stimulates the bacteria in the soil to divide and grow toward the soybean root, he says. Results have varied in OSU trials. Where Initiate has performed well, it matched or exceeded the bacteria-producing inoculants. However, Beuerlein notes that it's more expensive to use.
Initiate tends to get inoculation started earlier.
That could be a real benefit because farmers keep pushing soybean planting dates and putting seed in cold soils. If we can get nodules started two to three weeks earlier and not wait for the soil to warm up, the soybean plant is going to produce more nitrogen and hopefully better yield. Click here . We'd like to hear from you. Your message will be posted to our bulletin board.