Anthony Roth, QLF Greenhouse Manager
Trying new things can invoke a lot of different feelings. Depending on the personality of the person as well as the nature of the item or action of change, it tends to make people scared, happy, excited, doubtful, curious, and intrigued. QLF Agronomy has the capabilities, and commitment to helping producers and dealers alike gain confidence in changes to their operations when they make the switch to using our Liquid Carbon-Based Fertilizers (L-CBF). QLF has invested in an Agronomy Research Center (ARC) to further develop our products and educate our consumers. The ARC includes laboratory equipment, a growth chamber, and a greenhouse.
QLF Agronomy has compelling data showing the multiple benefits of L-CBF BOOST™ used with liquid nitrogen sources that support and mirror the many testimonials from growers we receive. A question proposed to one of our Regional Sales Agronomist (RSA), was how would adding BOOST to their “burndown” program would work on their rye cover crop, which combines the nitrogen and herbicide together (See Table 1). We designed a greenhouse trial with 6 different treatments, looking at different concentrations of UAN/ATS (28-0-0-5S) with herbicides and water, and comparing these with 2.5 Gal/Acre and 5 Gal/Acre application rates of our L-CBF BOOST (See Table 2). Each treatment was replicated 5 times and pictures were taken to help track and document the process.
Results showed that when L-CBF BOOST was added to this liquid fertilizer and herbicide mixture, unlike the control, it didn’t hinder the effect of the herbicides but rather in a visual contrast showed evidence of enhancing the herbicide efficacy.
The treatments that had BOOST in the mixture showed quicker signs of wilting and symptoms of leaf browning starting from leaf tips and moving towards leaf bases (See attached pictures). QLF’s BOOST has attributes that help us understand why we observe these findings. BOOST test results from the University of Nebraska research wind tunnel showed significant improvement in droplet size and uniformity when compared to a mix with no BOOST in it (see picture below). BOOST also aids in better surface area contact on the leaf allowing for a greater chance of absorption.
Founder Kenny Berg established his family-owned company, Quality Liquid Feeds (QLF), in 1977. For over 46 years, QLF has been supporting Animal and Crop nutrition by feeding and working with biology. Reach out to our local Regional Sales Agronomist’s (RSA) and learn more about how to capture these multiple benefits and enhance your pre-emergence “weed-n-feed” plus “burndown” spray pass with incorporating L-CBF BOOST.