TRIAL ‘BENESTIM RECOVERY’ ON WINTER WHEAT
Between April and August 2020 we carried out a trial of our new biostimulant ‘BeneSTIM Recovery’ on winter wheat. The trial location took place in the village of Gassel in the Netherlands at the field of Janick de Kleijn. The trial field consisted of a control plot and a “Biostimulant” plot in several repeats on different locations in the field. One plot was more in a sandy area and one plot was in an area that was more rich in clay.
Goal and application of BeneSTIM Recovery
Is it possible with the use of BeneSTIM Recovery to decrease the loss in yield that is caused by drought stress during the growth cycle? Last spring and summer there was hardly any rain in the Netherlands. As a result, the winter wheat was visibly stressed. The use of a Biostimulant can give the plant the possibility to cope with all kinds of abiotic stress like heat stress and water stress. Good results are being seen with treatments during flower setting, fruit setting and also fruit development. In this trial and application rate of around 2 liter/ha was used.
Results of BeneSTIM Recovery
After harvesting the winter wheat it appeared that with the use of BeneSTIM Recovery the Thousand Seed Weight (TSW) was 10% higher! Also the development of the ears seemed to be better and more grains were developed in the ears as result of improved fertilization and fruit development.
By applying the Biostimulant in three critical growth stages, GS31, GS40 and GS60 the development of the crop in general was secured. The continuity of assimilate availability in this way is more guaranteed. For instance Growth stage 31 at flower initiation is an important moment but also the other stages can be critical if the supply of assimilates is not sufficient. The sandy part in the trial was showing more drought stress than the other parts of the field.
Improvements
In the application some improvements could be done on the moment of timing of the biostimulant and also on the uniformity of the treatment. The dosage in the first treatment GS31/32 was a bit higher than the one in the following treatments. The development in the different stages can go quickly in some cases. More applications on moments of drought could have resulted in extra yield. Also more differentiation in treatment of different areas could have resulted in a better performance of the crop. For this trial the choice was made to do three applications because of economic viability in wheat cultivation in general. Not every application in practice can be combined with a regular crop protection or growth regulator application.
Click here for more product information or feel free to contact us.