In Sept. 2013, I posted a White Paper on residue management. The following is additional information that has become available since that posting.

Loveland Products Company/Agricen has a new product called Accomplish LM, which is a concentrated biochemical material that contains no N and isn’t dependent on soil microbial activity to function in residue decomposition. It is touted as a product that can hasten the breakdown of crop residue, thereby releasing nutrients that are bound in the stover. The product’s activity is not temperature sensitive; thus, its decompositional qualities will continue even in soils with cold temperatures.

The company’s article that provides the details about using this product is posted here. Results and pictures from numerous studies are presented, along with how and when the product should be applied for best results.

The touted advantages that result from using this product include increased nutrient release and availability from crop residues, increased soil nitrate level and thus more available N, increased soil P and K levels, decreased soil C:N ratio, and improved corn and soybean yields. There is no mention of the cost of this product and its application in the article.

If the promoted advantages from using this product are in fact manifested, another advantage in high-residue fields will be that residue removal does not have to be considered an option.

My posting of this blog and the linked article in no way implies either my or the MSPB’s promotion or endorsement of this product. Rather, it is intended to make you aware of and provide information about a product that may have utility for residue management in your operation.

Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Feb. 2014, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net