US: Sound Agriculture launches SOURCE™ Soybeans to increase access to nitrogen and phosphorus by activating the soil microbiome

Sound Agriculture announced Thursday that its flagship nutrient efficiency product, SOURCE™, is now available for use on soybeans in addition to corn. SOURCE gives crops access to natural forms of nitrogen and phosphorus, supporting increased yield with less impact on the environment. Trials from 2020 show that SOURCE Soybeans increases yield by 2.4 bushels per acre with a 75% win rate.

Like corn, soybeans rely on a steady supply of nitrogen and phosphorus to grow and produce grain. Most of the phosphorus that growers apply gets locked up in the soil in a form that is unavailable to crops. When phosphate gets bound to other elements in the soil, like calcium and iron, phosphate-solubilizing microbes (PSM) are required to break these bonds and unlock phosphorus for use by the plant. SOURCE Soybeans activates PSM populations in the soil to release the phosphorus and provide more nutrition throughout the growing season.

SOURCE Soybeans also increases access to nitrogen by stimulating native nitrogen fixing bacteria (NFB) in the soil, ensuring that the plant has enough nitrogen throughout the growing cycle. Similar to other legumes, soybean plants form root nodules that host NFB to provide plant-available nitrogen. However, toward the end of the season during grain-fill, the NFB are not able to keep up with the nitrogen needs of higher-yielding soybeans. Using SOURCE Soybeans provides the extra boost of nitrogen needed during this time to maximize yield.

"Because soybeans can support the fixation of nitrogen, soybean fertility needs are often overlooked," said Joel Lipsitch, VP Product Management and Marketing, Sound Agriculture. "Today's high-yielding soybeans require optimal nutrition to reach their full potential. SOURCE activates the soil microbes to unlock critical nutrients, giving growers a new tool to improve nutrient efficiency and, ultimately, productivity and profitability."

SOURCE Soybeans has a new active ingredient specifically tailored to the needs of soybeans. This reliable foliar chemistry is easy to use, as it does not require special equipment and there are no tank mix limitations.