Field trials across three key Australian grain regions have delivered the most comprehensive trial data to date showing the significant influence of nutrient efficiency bio-stimulant Utrisha N on crop yield.

The three large-scale wheat trials in Corrigin (WA), Esperance (WA), and Cummins (SA) were designed and analysed by AAGI, Analytics for the Australian Grains Industry, a collaboration between Curtin University, the University of Adelaide, the University of Queensland and Grains Research &Development Corporation (GRDC).

Each trial was conducted in approximately 6ha plots, where treatment of Utrisha N was accompanied with three-to-four levels of nitrogen (from zero to 150 per cent normal treatment) and compared to variable nitrogen treatments alone. 

Advanced spatial analysis using harvest pixels allowed researchers to isolate treatment impacts from natural soil variation, providing a robust assessment rarely seen in commercial field trials.

The AAGI reports found across all three trials that Utrisha N had a statistically significant impact on crop yield.

“The analysis revealed that level of nitrogen application, the use of Utrisha N and the interaction of the two factors all significantly influence crop yield,” the Corrigin trial report says.

Similar findings were reported following the trials in Esperance and Cummins.

Corteva Agriscience customer technology specialist, Justin Mercy, says the trials are setting a new standard in research in biologicals.

“We were able to get a level of granularity in these trials which is quite rare, especially in the relatively new eld of biologicals,” Justin says.

“Traditional trials might rely on five or six data points. In contrast, these trials analysed between 1604 and 2836 datapoints, allowing us to separate the effects of varying soil types across the sites,” he says.

“The outcome is a much clearer picture of how Utrisha N performs in the real world.”

Corteva Agriscience marketing manager, Dan Cornally, says the results demonstrate how this innovative, foliar-applied nitrogen- fixing product can contribute to improved nutrient efficiency and productivity in both low-and high-input systems.

“At both the Corrigin and Esperance sites, the addition of Utrisha N resulted in higher median or predicted yield across several nitrogen rates,” Dan says.

Importantly for growers, Dan says it points to a positive return on investment.

“These three trials were run in a drier than normal season and we saw positive yield results across the nitrogen dose curve in all three,” he says.

“These results give us confidence Utrisha N can be another tool in the shed, especially where late nitrogen application is inefficient or not possible due to weather.”

Justin says the independent design and analysis behind the trials are key to validating Utrisha N’s performance.

“Using a clustered linear mixed model approach allows us to account for spatial variation, which is the ‘gold standard’ of farm-scale research,” he says.

“We deliberately asked for a more scientific approach – not just paddock averages but a pixel-level understanding of what’s really happening across soil zones.

“That meant capturing and analysing harvest data at a much higher resolution. Paired data points on the same soil type were compared rather than averaging all the data points and assuming the paddocks soil was uniform across the paddock.”

To read the reports in full go to the Corteva Agriscience website.