The Next-Generation of Nitrogen

Corn is the world’s most produced crop and also the most dependent on nitrogen fertilizer. Pivot Bio created PROVEN® 40 to give farmers a more predictable, productive nitrogen that delivers nutrition throughout the crop’s most critical growth stages, without risk of losing nitrogen to leaching or volatilization.

PROVEN® 40 is designed to replace up to 40 pounds per acre of synthetic nitrogen. While the initial testing exceeded expectations in the lab, what really matters is how PROVEN® 40 performs in the field.

PROVEN® 40 in the Field

One of the regions where Pivot Bio closely studied product performance was Indiana and Michigan where PROVEN® 40 was used on corn crops across diverse soil types and weather conditions. We also conducted different tests to assess how plants treated with PROVEN® 40 compare to plants grown using standard synthetic nitrogen practices.

Although visual differences were subtle, we saw slight increases in above and below ground biomass in several demonstration locations.

• In one experiment near Purdue University, our team took whole-plant samples each week to monitor performance throughout the growing season.
• In another experiment near Fort Wayne, IN, we tested Pivot Bio PROVEN® 40 microbes applied with a precision in-furrow application, instead of a typical continuous band application.

What the Field Trials Showed

Throughout these experiments and demo fields, corn grown with Pivot Bio PROVEN® 40 consistently showed a 4% to 6% increase in plant biomass. Where synthetic nitrogen was removed from the grower’s standard nutrient program, crops grown with Pivot Bio PROVEN® 40 were at parity or slightly better than the control.

What’s really exciting about PROVEN® 40 is that these promising results are seen consistently in crops grown in entirely different and uniquely challenging conditions – including regions with diverse soil taxonomy, historic rainfall totals, and varied growing practices. What we found is that microbial nitrogen produced by PROVEN® 40 is not lost to the environment when the weather is unforgiving.

Specifically:

• In soils with a high organic content where mineralization can be high, growers might only apply nitrogen one or two times. In those areas, Pivot Bio PROVEN® 40 fills in the gaps so plants aren’t starved of nitrogen and makes up for years when mineralization rates are low.
• Conversely, in sandy, irrigated soils where nitrogen applications are needed more frequently, Pivot Bio PROVEN® 40 is showing its value as a reliable source of nitrogen that remains firmly colonized at the root of the plant throughout the growing season and can potentially reduce the number of passes through the field.

For more information about PROVEN® 40 and how it’s performing, check out our research and field trial results here.