JUN
23
New from Verdesian Life Sciences, Accolade is a liquid biological growth enhancement product aiming to increase root development and secondary lateral root systems. This boost to early season growth can then help lead to increased nutrient uptake and higher yields.
“The really neat thing about Accolade is it’s a rhizobacteria which means it doesn’t inhabit a nodule so it can be used with all crops,” said Kurt Seevers, technology development manager, Verdesian. “In furrow or on the seed, it grows alongside the roots as they expand. The plant provides nutrition for the bacteria and, in exchange, the rhizobacteria in Accolade produce nitrogen.”
Accolade contains Azospirillum brasilense – which the company says is a well-studied, free-living, nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
“This was our first year working with Accolade on corn,” said Cody Ray, agronomist for Henry Farmer Cooperative in Murray, Ky. “We used it as a starter in-furrow, putting it on as we planted and saw a 7.6 bushels per acre advantage over the control group. We really saw a huge difference compared to the corn beside it, especially when it came to root mass. And, in this drought year, I think that helped us because the roots were reaching down and getting more water and getting more nutrients.”
In addition to tank mixing with starter fertilizer, Accolade can be applied as a stand along product as well as is compatible with fungicide and insecticide applications.
“If you don’t start the season right by giving young plants access to nitrogen, you won’t have a good stand, you can’t make up for that loss once the crop is up and growing,” Verdesian’s Seevers said. “As a recognized, free-living nitrogen-fixer, Accolade is very beneficial early in the season because it allows plants to establish themselves and grow better getting out of the ground with better vigor.”
The product has been used in Canada on pulse crops, cereals and soybeans for many years.