Return on investment is never far from a grower’s mind, and two factors to consider for reaching profit goals are strong root development and weed control. To help growers in both areas, West Central Distribution has developed starter fertilizer Paralign, which helps increase nutrient uptake, and adjuvant Last Chance, which has shown to increase efficacy of herbicides.
Paralign: Dual-Action Chemistries
“At West Central we are always looking for new ways to make a grower’s job easier,” says director of product development Brian Kuehl. “With more growers planting earlier, and the need for better nutrient uptake, we knew there needed to be a way to continue to advance starter fertilizers.”
Working quietly under the soil, starter fertilizers ensure that seeds have access to readily available nutrients needed to develop strong roots faster. By helping plants use nutrients in the soil to their full potential, starter fertilizers give crops a stronger start, especially during variable spring conditions.
Paralign is a 5-15-3 fertilizer with 0.8 percent chelated zinc. It also contains a 1:3 ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus, crucial for plants’ phenological transition from vegetative to reproductive state. This ratio has also been shown to be optimal for early growth and product stability. Research has shown that sometimes deficiency symptoms can appear not from a lack of nutrients, but rather by not having the right ratio among nutrients.
The two unique modes of actions making up Paralign are ortho-ortho EDDHA (Levesol chelate) and the enzyme hemicellulase. The Levesol chelate increases the amount of phosphorus available by ensuring the element does not combine with positively charged soil components. The hemicellulsae enzyme benefits the crops by catalyzing the reaction that converts organic matter into simple sugars, nitrate, phosphorus, potassium and micronutrients.
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Plants fed with the new starter fertilizer Paralign (shown in the plant on the right) get better nutrient uptake, which in turn, shows a dramatic difference in overall plant health and height compared to a plant fe with a standard starter fertilizer.
Last Chance: Improving Herbicides’ Efficacy
Finding more efficient ways to tackle weeds is essential for growers. To help herbicides work better, West Central launched Last Chance. Last Chance is formulated with an AMS-FREE water conditioner, which helps to prevent the loss of active ingredient efficacy that can occur when the mixing water is mineral-saturated or of unknown quality.
“Last Chance is designed to significantly increase performance over the standard adjuvant program,” Kuehl says. “It is compatible with a broad range of conventional and traited crops as well as non-crop situations, which makes it an excellent addition to a grower’s tool belt.”
Last Chance can be a strong addition to a crop protection plan utilizing glyphosate. When applied, Last Chance combines with negatively charged glyphosate to increase plant uptake and translocation, and prevents glyphosate antagonism. Last Chance also improves coverage, retention and absorption.
Contact West Central Distribution at (320) 235-8518 or www.wcdst.com.
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