Product Spotlight: Starters

Liquid starters give developing seeds a boost of readily available nutrition in the seed row – providing nutrients like copper, phosphorus, potassium, manganese and zinc to aid with early root establishment, advanced crop maturity and good overall plant health. If your soil tests have indicated that you are facing a nutrient deficiency or are dealing with other less than ideal conditions, you should consider using a starter.

Liquid starter fertilizers offer a number of benefits over their granular counterparts. Unlike many granular fertilizers, every drop of liquid starter contains a homogeneous blend of nutrients, providing a balanced nutrient profile across the entire seed row.

Liquid starters also bring nutrients closer to the seed. According to Michigan State University, when using granular fertilizer, nutrients that aren’t very mobile in soil, like phosphorus, can’t get closer than the individual granule they’re contained in. But when applied in liquid form, these nutrients are better spread, making it easier for developing roots to access the nutrition they need to grow.

OMEX’s Starter P not only delivers readily available phosphorus where your crop can reach it, it also helps prevent its tie-up with Ca++, Al+++ or Fe++ (Starter Technology) while promoting its uptake more efficiently for improved root and shoot development and crop establishment. Starter P is most effective when you’re seeding into cold and wet soil conditions like those currently affecting much of Western Canada. It’s formulated with 60 per cent ortho-phosphate, available to the seed immediately, and 40 per cent poly-phosphate, which becomes available slowly as the soil warms up.

If you do choose to use a granular fertilizer for your starter, increase its efficacy by treating it with OMEX’s TPA, ImPhos or Perfuze. The latter is a highly-concentrated liquid suspension intended to coat dry PKS blends with micronutrients.

Perfuze is formulated with Micronutrient Delivery System Technology™, and is the most cost-effective and efficient way to apply micronutrients to the soil. It’s recommended for use in soils with high pH levels, or other situations that restrict the availability of micronutrients. Application rates of Perfuze will vary depending on the crop, the level of soil deficiency and other factors. To determine the optimal application rate, an OMEX Territory Manager is able to provide a calculator.

Whether you’re facing cold, wet conditions or nutrient deficiencies, using liquid high performance plant nutrition can help your crop overcome less than ideal circumstances and give it a better chance to produce higher yields. Give your OMEX representative a call today to get started on a strong start for your crops.