Imformation Bulletin

Drought-affected soil can seriously affect crop production for both the year of the drought and also the following year. One of the effects of drought is on rhizobia bacteria, the nitrogen-fixing bacteria which allow legumes to manufacture their own nitrogen. Like most other bacteria, rhizobia require adequate soil moisture to live and grow in the soil. Long periods of drought can cause a reduction in the rhizobia population, in part due to desiccation or drying out but also to other drought-related factors. An easy way to restore rhizobia populations is to inoculate your legume seed.

Another reason why you should inoculate your legume seed is that the effectiveness of the surviving rhizobia population is unknown after drought conditions. The rhizobia may be weak and ineffective at fixing nitrogen for the crop.

Inoculation is one tool you can use to minimize the risk to your yield following a drought. There are several types of products and technologies available to match your planting needs.

SEED-APPLIED INOCULANT:
• Cell-Tech^® (soybeans, peas and lentils) Liquid inoculant applied directly to the seed either in the hopper box or in a continuous drill-fill auger system for bulk seed handlers. The liquid dries quickly on the seed and stays on the seed when using vacuum or air planters.

LCO PROMOTER TECHNOLOGY^®:
• Optimize^® (soybeans, peas, and lentils) The LCO Promoter Technology in Optimize utilizes a premium inoculant as a carrier. You get all the benefits of this patented technology along with a high-quality inoculant. Optimize provides an increase in early season plant health and vigor, which leads to increased plant stand, enhanced root and shoot development, faster canopy closure, and increased yields. In addition to these benefits, Optimize provides the convenience of retail application up to 120 days before planting, and can be used in tandem with seed treatment fungicides and insecticides.

For more information on Optimize, Cell-Tech, and other EMD Crop BioScience products, please visit www.emdcropbioscience.com, call
1-800-558-1003, or contact your local sales representative.