Tag: Alfalfa

Wisconsin Farmer Increases Yield in Alfalfa and Sorghum

“Normal year for tonnage on my alfalfa I run 5-7 ton/acre and we usually get 3-4 cuttings. This field is already in it’s fifth year of production and I harvested 8 tons of alfalfa from it this year.  I applied Suma Green as per your recommendation ½ gallon at green up and ½ gallon every other cutting.  We took 5 cuttings off this year, which is almost unheard of in our part of the country.  Good weather at the end of the season certainly helped, but we still took off a ton per acre on the 5thcrop and it was 170 RFV quality feed.”

“I have a friend of mine that is looking at using some this year.  He is an organic dairy producer in Central WI and he like what he saw on my farm enough that he wants to give it a try this year.”

John Hilgart

Greece – Alfalfa, Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplants

The plants were in poor condition before the development period began, as seen to the right.Greece – Alfalfa, Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplants pic 1.png

 

Throughout the study conducted by Ergoefarmogi, the plants went from lifeless to thriving (seen below), and this was achieved without the use of fertilizer.

greece-e28093-alfalfa-tomatoes-peppers-and-eggplants-pic-2.png

Over 60 days, faster and greater development and also intense flowering were observed. There was an increase in size and quality of the crops and an increased productivity from 30 to 80% per crop. An absence of fungus and other microorganism as well as various insects was observed. The plants were completely healthy throughout the duration of the development period. They were more alive, had vivid colors, and had visible difference in the size compared to those plants that had used conventional fertilizer. Their growth was also faster with better quality regarding their look and their taste. After the pruning during the productive seasons, they obtained branches and flowers and the production increases dramatically, and the fruit quality was evident in the excellent taste.

Greece – Alfalfa, Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplants pic 3

With the alfalfa crop, at least 40-60% faster and greater growth was observed. Also greater productivity was shown by the intense dark green color, deeper roots system, denser and larger size of the plant.

South Africa Lucerne (Alfalfa) Achieves 130% Yield Increase

Lusern-Alfalfa-South Africa -- field comparison160126

Mr. Francois van Rooyen, a lucerne and pecan nut agriculturist, carried out the following interesting controlled test on his lucerne.

  • The right-hand field was treated with ExploGrow™ (SumaGrow).
  • The left-hand field was not treated.
  • The soil is the same in both fields: very brackish and shallow water table, and is well drained with underground pipes.
  • In all other respects the two fields were treated the same, except a variation in the type of Lucerne.
    On the left hand field: Sardi 10 cultivar. On the right hand field WL 711.
  • Both fields were therefore top producers with low dormancy and both fields were also treated identically with organic acids, clay minerals, macro-elements, micro-elements and activated carbon, to provide an effective and balanced soil due to brackish conditions prevailing in the area.

“ExploGrow™ (SumaGrow) has just raised the maximum yield ceiling for my land and a 130% increase in yield represents a massive increase in profits.”

Mr Francois van Rooyen, Lucerne and Pecan Nut agriculturist

UPDATE: Results after harvesting Lucerne

  • Harvesting took place during March/April 2016
  • Yield increase: 130%
  • The ExploGrow™ (SumaGrow) treated area produced 23 tons per hectare versus 10 tons per hectare from the untreated area.
  • Better plant health on the ExploGrow™ (SumaGrow) treated area showing a “remarkable difference compared to the untreated area”.
  • “After a severe and damaging drought, I would attribute the radically superior yields on the treated land to the bigger root systems, reduction in watering requirements and improved plant health, delivering over 23 tons per hectare compared with only 10 tons per hectare for untreated area.” Mr. van Rooyen

Lucerne-Alfalfa -- South Africa close up

Based on his expertise in balancing soil, Mr van Rooyen offers his analysis as follows:

“I believe that the carbon and organic acids act as excellent food for the ExploGrow™ (SumaGrow) microbes.

In nature, manure (for example) releases organic acids and then feeds organisms from the animal’s intestines that generates diverse populations of ground microbes. Without the dung, the microbial populations would not develop, because some form of energy needs to drive the microbial activity. It is not enough to only use a balanced vitamin and mineral supplement. You also need protein, carbohydrates and other energy-rich compounds to function at the optimal level.

I therefore believe that the organic acids in my fields provide the energy to the microbes to develop a diverse strong population. This diverse population can now execute various tasks like (a) extracting minerals from the soil solution and (b) helping the plant to absorb the minerals. 

Microbial activity fuels a high rate of multiplication. This impacts positively on the plants also acting as a precursor to the plant’s own productions of hormones, resulting in stronger growth, like I observed with ExploGrow™ (SumaGrow).

The ExploGrow™ (SumaGrow) microbes develop a diverse population in symbiosis with the plant. This diverse group of microbes carry out several critical functions such as binding of atmospheric nitrogen, releasing phosphates etc. In this specific case of brackish soil, the microbes make the excess iron available to the plant for consumption, which would otherwise be detrimental to root establishment and growth.

I believe this is clear from the photo, when looking at the left-hand field. One can clearly see in the photo that on the untreated left field the plant microbial interaction is poor, although this field has an otherwise absolutely balanced fertilization program.

The soil in the left field is simply poor in essential microbes.

Looking at the right-hand field treated with ExploGrow™ (SumaGrow), the picture speaks for itself!”

“On my farm I noticed an extraordinary difference in the presence of lice (“Bladspringers”). The ExploGrow™ (SumaGrow) treated areas were virtually unaffected compared with the untreated areas that were severely affected. Furthermore, three other farmers that I supplied with ExploGrow™ (SumaGrow) experienced similar results.”

Mr Francois van Rooyen, Lucerne and Pecan Nut agriculturistLucerne - Alfalfa -- South Africa -- bush view

Photo: Note how many leaves there are on the treated plants compared to the low leaf count on the untreated plant

At the end of the season Mr van Rooyen shared the following observations:

  • “A very intense drought hit the central and western regions in South Africa. 
  • Insects such as Bladspringer (Leafhopper) that normally survive in the field, fed on Lucerne for the whole summer, causing severe damage.
  • The ExploGrow™ (SumaGrow) treated area had a very positive effect on the resistance of the plants against insects.
  • Where farmers applied ExploGrow (SumaGrow) in the spring, there was visible resistance. The population of the insects were much smaller on the ExploGrow (SumaGrow) treated areas. Also, there were far less marks on the leaves in the ExploGrow (SumaGrow) treated areas.
  • Within six days of the end of March we had 150 mm of rain. 
  • The treated Lucerne survived much better in the wet conditions than the untreated Lucerne.
  • In the end, production varied from 10 tons for the untreated Lucerne and 23 tons for the treated Lucerne.”
 “ExploGrow™ (SumaGrow) is a winner!“
Mr Francois van Rooyen, Lucerne and Pecan Nut agriculturist

Pecan Nuts

“I made the same observation on Pecan Nut trees, in an orchard where 40% of the trees were dying – although the soil was perfectly balanced with organic acids elements etc.  After treatment with ExploGrow™ (SumaGrow) there was a total recovery.”

Mr Francois van Rooyen, Lucerne and Pecan Nut agriculturist

 

Mink Pond Club Soil Improvement

Soil analysis reports are invaluable tools for farmers and gardeners. They contain a wealth of information that is vital when determining what treatment program is necessary for the crops before and after planting. Tim Foglio, manager of the Mink Pond Club, a 2500 acre hunting and fishing game park in Pennsylvania, has shared his soil analysis reports for the last two years.

Tim used SumaGrow for approximately three years in conjunction with his regular fertilizer and experienced really good results.  The good results made him curious as to how well SumaGrow would work if used without fertilizer. He decided to really test it and did without his usual fertilizer with continued good results.

The following charts show what crops were planted and what the Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), pH, and Organic Matter (OM) was for last year, when available, and this year.

CEC is soil’s ability to hold and exchange nutrients and helps soils resist changes in pH in addition to retaining plant nutrients.

In a healthy balance of microbial proportions the pH of the soil will automatically stabilize at around 6.4 with SumaGrow, which is not only the “perfect soil pH” for organic/biological agriculture, but is also the ideal pH of sap in a healthy plant.

OM is the decomposed plant material in the soil that serves as a carbon source for the microbial community and nutrient bank for plant life above the ground.

The data from the Mink Pond Club provides excellent evidence that Bio Soil’s products act in a beneficial manner to help improve the soil quality over time.

Mink Pond Soil Analysis ComparisonMink Pond Soil Analysis Comparison 2

Tim Foglio, President of the Mink Pond Club wrote this testimonial:

“I would like to thank you and your company for making a product that actually does what it’s supposed to do.  There are a lot of products out there that claim “miracle results”; your product actually is a miracle!

Not only is it the easiest fertilizer to apply, but it is organic which makes it great for using on food plots near our lake and stream.  I can honestly say that [SumaGrow] is worth the money.  For the first time in eight years of growing food plots, our fields were lush and green, even in August!  I am so impressed after last year’s results that I am only using [SumaGrow] on my plots this year and have cut traditional fertilizers out completely.  I also look forward to using this because of the time-saving advantage of being able to mix my herbicides with it, which reduces compaction.

Once again, thank you for a great product.”

Happy growing,

Tim Foglio