Associate Farm Editor, Reagan Calk, had the chance to visit with BASF Senior Field Technical Representative, Troy Bauer about biological seed treatments and the benefits for growers who use these treatments.
“Biological seed treatments, from our perspective, are products that contain the live biological organisms, and they usually benefit the plants we are using them with,” Bauer said. “So, in the case of Vault IP Plus, we have a biological product that has bacilli strains- two bacilli strains- in the product as well as a live rhizobia product in there that will benefit growers.”
Sometimes, individuals may have uncertainties regarding the benefits of biologicals, Bauer said, but Vault IP Plus is a proven biological product that has been on the market.
“The rhizobia that we have in Vault IP Plus is a very high-quality live rhizobia source, and it is a product that maximizes nitrogen fixation for the grower, and many of the soybean growers out there know that soybeans get at least 60 percent of their nitrogen from that symbiotic relationship with rhizobia.”
By providing a high-quality rhizobia source every year, Bauer said growers can be assured they will get a high level of nitrogen fixation and maximize their yields as a result.
“Vault IP Plus is only available for soybean use in the U.S.,” Bauer said. “Rhizobia sources are very specific to the species they will fix nitrogen in, so this is one that will work well with soybeans in the U.S.”
The two bacilli strains present in Vault IP Plus, Bauer said, will live and grow with the soybean root system and help protect them against soil-borne diseases such as Fusarium and Rhizoctonia.
“You still need your base fungicide seed treatment for soybeans, but by the bacilli strains living and growing with the root system, it will actually increase your root growth, which will increase both your moisture and nutrient uptake, and again, maximizing your yield potential, which is really what the bottom line is for growers,” Bauer said.
Regarding similar products for other crops aside from soybeans, Bauer said BASF has a number of other rhizobia products out on the market.
“If people have questions about that, I think they need to contact their local BASF representative or go to the BASF webpage to find out more information,” Bauer said. “There is a lot of great products out there in the marketplace to help growers really maximize their yield potential.”
For producers wanting to see if Vault IP is a good fit for their crop, Bauer said he recommends working with their local agronomist or BASF representative.
“Vault IP Plus is a high-quality product, and it has got the lowest use rate in the marketplace at 1.1 ounces per hundredweight (cwt),” Bauer said. “So, I would really encourage growers to check out this option.”
