Over the past few years, our No-Till Farmer editors have produced several articles about uses of several new crop additives. Some articles have cited research reports which indicated these additives would help boost corn yields for no-tillers, while other articles stated the additives weren’t living up to expectations.

We’ve had several speakers and farmers who attended previous National No-Tillage Conference recommend these products. At the same time, other speakers weren’t fully convinced of the value.

New University Research Data. A recent trial conducted by University of Minnesota researchers shows a significant response from corn treated with one of these crop additives.

Corn seedlings exposed to zinc ammonia acetate, also known as the patented agricultural crop additive ACA, consistently produced taller plants with greater leaf area, more root growth and increased corn plant shoot dry weight in greenhouse studies. These zinc ammonia acetate products are marketed by United Agri Products of Greeley, Colo., as ACA concentrate, ACA plus and Awaken.

This report from Minnesota researchers Aimin Liu, Robert Jones, Gary Malzer and George Rehm, a speaker on fertility at previous National No-Tillage Conferences, states ACA in at least three previous research studies increased corn yields due to increased kernel weight.

Data from a Minnesota nutrient uptake study supports the idea that increased uptake of essential nutrient elements (including zinc) with zinc ammonium acetate results in positive plant growth.

Focusing specifically on corn plant shoot and root growth of germinated seed and young seedlings in laboratory and greenhouse experiments, the Minnesota study…