A new product claims to give bean growers the chance to boost crops' nitrogen fixation capability
A new endophytic bacteria is offering bean growers the chance to boost a crop's nitrogen fixation capability by capturing atmospheric nitrogen and converting into a form suitable for use with plants.
The team behind the development of Vixeran endophytic bacteria, Azotobacter salinestris said although beans are often referred to as 鈥榥itrogen fixers', it is not down to the plants but the microscopic soil Rhizobium bacteria that they host on roots. By applying听Vixeran at an early stage, yields are boosted as it supplments the crop's natural process.
Syngenta technical manager Simon Jackson said: "A bean plants' nodules containing the nitrogen-fixing Rhizobium will be formed on the roots three to five weeks after emergence and will start to fix nitrogen straight away. However, the nodules will gradually senesce and stop fixing nitrogen around the time of pod filling.
"The addition of Vixeran complements the plants' nitrogen-need for structural growth, while also reducing the burden on the leaves to supply the nitrogen needed to fill the seeds in the pod," Mr Jackson said. "This allows the leaves to stay greener and continue photosynthesising for longer, that in turn increases yield.
"Importantly the Vixeran bacteria is capable of converting the atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to its plant available form (NH3) in the leaves, roots and soil surrounding the plant. By going straight into the plant, the N is not leached or volatilised, which is highly efficient and avoids environmental losses from soil," he added.
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Trials conducted last year showed by applying Vixeran during periods of active crop growth, there was on average, a 0.53 t/ha improvement in yield. Assessments on a Vixeran treated crop showed a 12 per cent uplift in pod numbers, along with a corresponding 12 per cent increase in seed weight in each of the pods.
Mr Jackson advised for best results Vixeran should be applied in spring when beans are actively growing, at a rate of 50g per hectare after the six-leaf stage (GS16), through to the start of flowering. A single application is required to inoculate the crop with the beneficial endophyte.
The product, which works across a wide range of crops including cereals, maize, potatoes and grassland, is physically and biologically compatible with Elatus Era and Amistar where the application timing coincides with the crop's fungicide strategy, along with many other crop protection products, fertilisers and biostimulants.
