Thursday, September 16, 2010

Peanuts, Cotton and LIQUID in the Deep South

So earlier this week my fertilizer mission took me all the way down to Southern Alabama to see Sales Account Manager Jay Castleman. Jay has done a great job of showing a fit for Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers on a variety of southern crops, and it was a great opportunity for me to get a progress report. Although I would have thought that by now it would have cooled off some, it was still in the mid-90's with humidity. We are working with the University of Florida at the Suwanee Valley research facility near Live Oak on some peanut plots. In these plots, Liquid's calcium fertilizer is being evaluated. In grower trials, and now grower usage, Jay has shown that application of Liquid calcium in either the in-furrow innoculant or Liberate Ca with planter fertilizer has resulted in substantial peanut yield increases. Below Jay and Mace from the university research farm check some plants. A similar trial is also being conducted at the Wiregrass Research and Education Center near Headland, AL. These plots are in the picture below. In the background is part of the Agri-AFC Headland facility where you can obtain Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers and friendly advice for all of your farming needs.
The next day we went down to Atmore, AL to meet with some growers and Agri-AFC dealers to see some dryland cotton fields which had used full programs of Agro-Culture Liquid Fertilizers. There is often chaos when two dealers, three growers and Jay get together, but this meeting was surprisingly civil.

Jay and Tony check some cotton while nervous grower Doug (in the very bright green shirt) watches to makes sure they don't mess anything up. It has been pretty dry of late, but the crop looks very good.

In one field there was a split between two different growers programs. The cotton on the left received a total dry fertilizer program and the one on the left received only liquid: Pro-Germinator + Sure-K + Micro 500 at planting, placed 2x2 with some 28-0-0-5, and then sidedressed with more 28-0-0-5. Additionally it was sprayed with a successful southern cotton foliar application of a blend of High NRG-NR + Sure-K + Boron. It really brought the cotton along, such that a similar application was also applied to the other field to help it. Now the dry fertilizer cotton was planted several weeks earlier, but the size and color differences are striking.

Below is a branch from mid stalk of some of the Liquid cotton showing bolls on five fruiting positions.

So it was a good day and we all liked what we saw. And in order to try to fit in better in the South, I did a good job of polishing off some catfish and shrimp with the group at the restaurant after our tour. Just can't get it that good in Michigan. So I reluctantly left Alabama for stage II of my fertilizer mission to.....?