Protecting Maize from Abiotic Stress

• Ensuring the crop is supplied with required nutrients, in the right quantities at the best time for them to make the best use of these nutrients.
• Protecting it from abiotic stress often brought on by extreme weather conditions such as drought.

For more information about the nutritional requirements of maize, please read our blog: Foliar phosphate boosts the establishment of maize.

When it comes to reducing abiotic stress the focus is on limiting the effects of extreme weather events on the crop such as drought.

In the hope of protecting Maize crops from abiotic stress, Yara trialled the use of YaraAmplix Optitrac along with YaraVita CropBoost. YaraAmplix Optitrac is a liquid biostimulant combining a blend of nutrients and bioactive compounds extracted from the algae Ascophyllum nodosum.

Yara knows all too well that a farmer's crop can live and die on the whims of the weather, so we have developed a product designed specifically to protect crops against the stresses of inclement weather. It will help crops during periods of high metabolic demand in order to stimulate flowering, grain set and improve yield quality and quantity.

In contains a broad range of carefully selected bioactive compounds and nutrients including:

• Boron, zinc, nitrogen and potassium which enhance the effect of the bioactive compounds.
• Sugar alcohols to improve the mobility of boron.
• Amino acids which are critical for plant metabolism and build resilience.
• Organic acids to improve micro-nutrient uptake.
• Polysaccharides to mitigate the impact of abiotic stress.
• Vitamins for their antioxidant protection properties.
• Humectant which prolongs the foliar nutrient absorption period.

We now have two years’ worth of data that shows a really beneficial response to this solution. By applying YaraVita CropBoost and YaraAmplix Optitrac at the 5 leaf stage, trials saw a 16% increase in dry matter yields. This equates to an extra 2.5 tonnes of dry matter per hectare.

YaraAmplix Optitrac can easily be tank mixed with YaraVita CropBoost, reducing the required number of passes in the field and lowering the costs of application.

For more information about the product, take a look at the YaraAmplix Optitrac product information page