Double Inoculation

Why Inoculate or Double Inoculate

Effective nodulation is essential for nitrogen fixation, particularly in soils where soybeans have not been planted recently.
Double inoculation can help quickly establish high populations of rhizobia bacteria to ensure optimal nodulation and soybean performance.
Seed-applied inoculant can be profitable on fields with a history of soybean planting.

Inoculants can have a positive impact in many growing situations, including the following:

Fields that have no previous history of soybean production.
Soil pH is below 6.0. Greater response from inoculants can be expected in fields with a pH below 6.0.
Fields that have been flooded for several days can have anaerobic conditions that inhibit rhizobia.
Compaction and cool soil temperatures can reduce nodulation.
Sandy soils with low organic matter (less than 1%) generally have very low populations of rhizobia bacteria and need to be inoculated every year.

Double inoculate your soil for maximum yield potential

Land that has been through less than ideal growing conditions, or has not had soybeans for a few years, requires special attention when it comes to inoculation. Double inoculation can help quickly establish high populations of rhizobia bacteria to ensure the best possible nodulation and soybean performance. Land with a history of longer soybean rotations, or land with a history of flooding or longer periods of drought, is not conducive to rhizobia survival. It is in these soils that farmers will benefit greatly from the application of two formulations of inoculant.

Seed-applied inoculants tend to form nodules closer to where the seed is located (closer to the primary root); in-furrow-applied granular inoculants tend to form nodules on the secondary or lateral roots. Combining the two formulations allows for wider distribution of nodules along the whole root system.

How To Double Inoculate

As the base treatment in dual inoculation, Optimize® LV inoculant, a retailer applied dual-action product, delivers the benefits of a specially selected Bradyrhizobium japonicum inoculant along with LCO (lipochitooligosaccharide) technology:

Greater opportunity for the development of nitrogen-fixing nodule with LCO
Enhanced nutrient capability, which supports root and shoot growth
Lower application rate means more space on seed for other seed treatments
Broad seed treatment compatibility with 220-day on seed stability with additional extender* for key seed treatments, otherwise 120 day on seed stability
*Additional extender sold separately.

LCO is a molecule involved in the rhizobia–legume nodulation system. LCO is an important component in nodulation as a key driver in the communication between plants and rhizobia.

With Optimize LV, there is no lag time for plant development waiting for the LCO signal, as it is delivered on the seed. This gives the plant more time to grow (closing the communication gap between the plant and the rhizobia).

Applying several microbial products to soybean seed can have distinct advantages for soybean performance. Adequate availability of phosphate is essential for N fixation. Penicillium bilaiae (P. bilaiae), which is a phosphate solubilizer that can be used in conjunction with Bradyrhizobium japonicum. Used together, these products can provide increased phosphate availability, more fixed nitrogen, better root and shoot growth, and yield potential.

For best results, you may apply Optimize® LV inoculant with Cell-Tech® or TagTeam® inoculant.

Application

For soybean growers with air drills and a granular applicator, TagTeam granular is an ideal sequential product with Optimize LV. TagTeam for soybean combines the phosphate-solubilizing organism P. bilaiae and B. japonicum in one inoculant to help address your soybean crop’s phosphate and nitrogen fertility needs; P. bilaiae provides crops access to soil and fertilizer phosphate.

For growers without a granular applicator, or a planter with a liquid kit, Cell-Tech liquid applied in-furrow through a liquid applicator is a good option. Cell-Tech is a single-action inoculant that contains a specially selected B. japonicum species.