Micronutrients Help Reduce Herbicide Damage To Crops
AgriGuardian MicroMix Complete™ contains all essential micronutrients required by all crops. It was originally formulated in 2005 to offset “yellow flash” in soybeans caused by the use of glyphosate. Glyphosate is a strong chelating agent that binds to essential micronutrients inside plants. This includes both inside weeds and the growing crop. The micronutrients that glyphosate ties up in the plants include manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn). While glyphosate does not kill Roundup Ready® crops, the binding of these micronutrients inside crops by glyphosate causes these micronutrients to become deficient. We observe these micronutrient deficiencies as "yellow flash," since the micronutrients inside the plant are not available for the crop to use.
“Yellow flash” is most visible in the field with soybean plants, because the micronutrient deficiencies first appear in the young leaves on the top of the soybean plants. The same micronutrient tie-up occurs with corn and all other Roundup Ready® crops when glyphosate is applied. In corn, following glyphosate application, the young leaves experiencing micronutrient deficiencies are still inside the whorl and the symptoms are not readily visible. By the time the young corn leaves grow out enough to see, the micronutrients have been replenished and the young leaves look normal.
Recommendations to prevent or correct “yellow flash” have often been incomplete or inaccurate. One such recommendation has been to apply manganese to Roundup Ready® crops. The tie up of manganese in weeds is what makes glyphosate work to kill weeds. However, glyphosate also ties up iron, copper, nickel and zinc in plants. These nutrients are not of importance when it comes to killing weeds, but they do matter when it comes to the growing crop. Thus to prevent “yellow flash” in Roundup Ready® crops, all five of these micronutrients must be applied to offset the tie up of these nutrients by glyphosate.
Another means to prevent "yellow flash" is to mix these micronutrients in the spray tank with glyphosate. However, glyphosate cannot be tank mixed with traditional micronutrient fertilizers. Glyphosate would bind to these micronutrients in the tank mix, reducing the ability of the glyphosate to kill weeds, and make the micronutrients unavailable for crops to use. However, EDTA chelated micronutrients are often recommended, but glyphosate is a stronger chelating agent than is EDTA. This means that glyphosate can bind to micronutrients held by EDTA, reducing the effectiveness of both glyphosate and EDTA chelated micronutrients.
AgriGuardian's™ goal was to develop chelated micronutrients that could be tanked mixed with glyphosate without reducing the efficacy of glyphosate, and also provide micronutrients in a form that was readily absorbed and usable by the plant. Thus AgriGuardian MicroMix Complete™ was developed. It is a sugar-based chelated micronutrient product that contains all essential plant micronutrients. In addition to preventing “yellow flash”, the product has proven to increase crop performance and yields, reduce incidence of diseases, and improve the efficacy of herbicides by helping to move herbicides inside weeds. As a result, AgriGuardian MicroMix Complete™ should be used every time that glyphosate or related herbicides are applied to crops.
In order to get crops off to a good start, AgriGuardian MicroMix Complete™ is routinely applied early with herbicide applications. The benefits of using this product with glyphosate (better weed kill and healthy crop) are also being observed when tank mixed with other herbicides. The photograph above shows the effect of AgriGuardian MicroMix Complete™ tank mixed with Liberty® herbicide and 3 lbs of ammonium sulfate (AMS) on soybeans. This grower routinely uses AgriGuardian MicroMix Complete™ with his herbicide program, but in this case the AgriGuardian MicroMix Complete™ supply tank ran out before he had finished his field. It should also be noted that at the time these products were applied the temperature was in the 90’s. Needless to say, the effects of AgriGuardian MicroMix Complete™ on the health and condition of the crop are obvious.
In addition to applying AgriGuardian MicroMix Complete™ with herbicides, the product can supply all essential micronutrients to meet the needs of growing crops, whether use alone or with other fertilizer nutrients. Micronutrients play important roles in plant biochemical pathways and are required in order to get the full benefit of soil and foliar applied nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sulfur (S).
Most crops benefit from an early application of AgriGuardian MicroMix Complete™. Do tissue testing to determine which nutrients are limiting the potential for the crop. Additional applications of AgriGuardian MicroMix Complete™ may be needed. AgriGuardian™ also produces and markets a complete line of individual micronutrients and specialty macronutrients to meet all crops’ needs.
Important: Whenever using AgriGuardian MicroMix Complete™ in a tank mix, always do a jar test using all products in the proposed tank mix to confirm compatability among the products, do not mix concentrated products together before adding to spray solution, and spray a small test area in the field to check for potential crop damage before spraying entire fields.
Contact your local AgriGuardian™ distributor for more information on AgriGuardian MicroMix Complete™ and other AgriGuardian™ products.
