Valent U.S.A. recently announced the launch of MycoApply EndoPrime for corn. The new treatment is applied in-furrow and uses four unique species of mycorrhizal fungi to help improve nutrient efficiency, drought tolerance and yield potential.

MycoApply EndoPrime colonizes the root system of the corn plant, and creates filaments known as hyphae that attach to root hairs, and extend into areas of the soil which are inaccessible to the roots, the company says.

In addition to reaching further, the hyphae produce enzymes that release nutrients tied up in the soil and also create vesicles to store resources until they are needed by the plant. This unique activity is what allows the root system to go where it never has before and give corn growers the ability to increase yield potential, the company says.

Across 24 trials over two years, MycoApply EndoPrime demonstrated a 75% win rate versus an untreated check and an average 4.7 bushels per acre yield advantage.

Todd Mayhew, product development manager with Valent U.S.A., said, "The key advantage of MycoApply EndoPrime is that it expands the root network versus other methods that attempt to enhance what already exists in the plant, such as a plant growth regulator. This allows the plant to go beyond what is already available and reach further into the soil to use what is there."

Upper Midwest growers evaluated MycoApply EndoPrime in their cornfields as part of a 2017 national trial demonstration and the advantages were significant: 57% of growers saw a fuller/bigger root mass compared to untreated corn.

For spring of 2018, Valent has developed an optimized formulation of MycoApply EndoPrime that will pre-slurry more easily than the pre-launch formulation.