Predictive Soil Testing for Nutrients and Deficiencies

It’s about that time of the year when we see nutrient deficiencies or weaknesses, if there are any, in our crops. Are you taking tissue samples to diagnose nutrient deficiencies in season?

Are you confused when your mid-season tissue analysis and early-season fertility analysis don’t line up? What are you doing to treat that? Maybe you are applying a foliar, adding microbes to a drip, or adding additional fertilizer at this point in the season. 

What if we told you there was a way to catch the nutrient deficiencies before they even happen?  

There is now technology to understand what biological pathways are blocked before the plant even goes into the ground or before perennial crops go into bud. With BeCrop® Technology, we can look at fertilizer analysis in addition to biological nutrient pathways, predict what deficiencies we might see down the road, and treat them when we put the plant in the ground rather than having to be reactionary later on in the season.

Soil testing for nutrients can only go so far if we don’t know if those nutrients are actually reaching the plant. For example, if we see a calcium pathway blocked, we may not see calcium move from the soil into the plant. Rather than adding more calcium later in the season via foliar, we can add biology to open up and move the calcium already there in the soil into the plant tissue.

With one BeCrop® Test, farmers can 

• Save money on the foliar and fertilizer treatments
• Save money down the road on soil and plant health diagnostics 
• Ensure healthy plants and healthy soil earlier in the season
• Prepare the farm with predictive insights, so the crop is ready for optimal yield and quality 

Don't take our word for it. A large corn and soybean producer in Nebraska, USA, had crops that had trouble taking up nutrients in the soil. He completed a BeCrop Test, and the results indicated that the field had a problem with excessive potassium and very low, blocked nutrient pathways. The producer was advised to switch up his fertilizer regime to support the soil microbiome by adding biologicals to help solubilize potassium. Also, knowing the drought conditions in Nebraska, the producer was advised to introduce special microorganisms that help the plant in extreme weather conditions.

The producer was able to find the right biological products that matched the specific needs of his farm, allowing the fields to reproduce their own native microorganism and recreate a unique microbiome. By using Biome Makers BeCrop® Test, the producer increase productivity, reduce disease pressure and reduce overall inputs.

Soil biology is the missing link in moving soil nutrients to the plant. Running a functional soil health test like BeCrop Test with Biome Makers can help predict those nutrient deficiencies pre-season before they happen! Having better early-season data on soil function has an immediate ROI.

If you understand what biology is present or missing before planting or growth, you can get ahead of the game by treating the root cause before any issues show up in your plants later while you’re trying to take that in-season family vacation before harvest.

Note to self: Get ahead of the game next season - run a soil biology test with my fertility analysis. Same sampling plan, same protocol, same sample.

Know Before you Grow with BeCrop® >>