Proving the power of biologicals
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From stronger roots to higher yields, Corteva’s field trials are showcasing the power of biological solutions on Canadian farms.
Biological products aren’t new – they’ve been around for decades – b t the use of biologicals in Canadian crops is still relatively new to some farmers. That’s one of the reasons Corteva Agriscience conducts field trials across Canada, testing the performance and predictability of these solutions-based products.
Simranjit Singh is a Biological Innovation Specialist with Corteva who’s been traveling across the country, conducting tours of the field trials with local farmers, agronomists and crop advisors. He says the results this year are proving once again, the performance boosting, resilience building and crop protecting potential of biological products for Canadian farmers.
“We’re testing products across various geographies, soil zones, crops and weather patterns,” says Singh. “The greater the variability of growing conditions, the more information we can collect and share with our customers to help them make the best crop management decisions.”
Biologicals in action
This year, Corteva Agriscience is conducting nearly 45 trials, including small scale plots, and large-scale fields. The trials are located across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. Singh says they are testing products from Corteva’s biologicals portfolio, building a database of information while gathering practical information about how the products perform to share with farmers and crop advisors.
So far, the 2025 growing season has been promising across all field trial locations. “A key component of the trials is to test the crop’s response to environmental stressors so we can determine how biological products can support and protect plants and yield potential,” says Singh, explaining that the trial locations and growing conditions have been selected to represent the variability of Canada’s growing season and common challenges that farmers encounter year over year. “We’re growing in a variety of crops, including canola, corn, wheat and soybeans to collect data and show growers what a difference biologicals can make on their own acres.”
Crop performance and resilience are two of the key factors Singh and his team are evaluating in the trials. Since yield is the primary focus for farmers, they are actively measuring and collecting data on key yield components throughout each stage of crop growth and development. “We are testing these biological products to see how they support the plants through each stage and observing how the products are enhancing the plants' ability to efficiently utilize soil, nutrients, water, and sunlight. All of these factors contribute to realizing yield potential.”
Singh explains that early season yield components like plant count, uniform emergence and plant stand all contribute to a crop’s final yield, and these are some of the factors they are measuring and comparing. He’s also taking a closer look at evaluating root biomass (including root depth and vigour) and shoot development. “Products like Fortified Stimulate™ Yield Enhancer enhance root and shoot development that directly accelerates plant performance,” says Singh, explaining that the more robust the roots and shoots of a plant, the more competitive a plant will be thanks to its ability to increase photosynthesis and produce more energy.
This summer, Singh has been diligently digging up roots to show farmers touring the trials just how healthy and robust the plant roots are and what that means for capturing yield potential. “The impact of biological products during the growing season are harder to see,” notes Singh. “The proof comes at the end of the season.”
When it comes to building resilience and protecting plant potential, Singh has seen some pretty compelling proof points in the trials this year too. Spring planting conditions in Ontario were relatively cool and wet, providing the perfect conditions to measure the results of Bio-Forge™ Premier. Applied as a seed treatment, this biological product not only provided protection against the cold, wet early season soils, but also delivered even emergence and a solid plant stand. In addition, Singh credits Bio-Forge Premier with empowering the corn and soybean trial crops to withstand the early season heat stress that soon followed the cold, wet conditions. “The ability to provide plants with the protection and boost of resilience they need to thrive in the face of these abiotic stressors and unfavourable weather conditions means the crops were able to handle the stress and come out healthier and with more vigour,” says Singh. “And we know a crop’s ability to overcome these challenges will deliver more yield at the end of the season.”
Canola crop trials in northern Alberta have also presented common environmental stressors this year, enabling Singh and his team to evaluate the impact of X-Cyte™. Singh explains that unseasonably high temperatures in mid July caused heat stress during the critical flowering stage (a key yield component) in canola. By applying a foliar application of X-Cyte, a biostimulant designed to increase plant resilience and safeguard yield by protecting crops from heat blast, the trial team was able to help the crop overcome heat blast and improve overall crop resilience. Once again, the final proof of the product performance will be realized at harvest, but all observations indicate that the plants received much-needed support thanks to the biological solution application.
Biological beginnings
One of the most common questions farmers ask Singh about using biologicals is “where do I start?”. His advice is to approach biologicals as solutions to challenges rather than another product to the lineup. He recommends farmers take stock of their growing season, identify common abiotic stressors, like cold soils, drought, heat stress, hail or early season frost. Using this information, farmers should consult a trusted crop advisor to determine the right biological solution, application timing and rate.
Singh reminds farmers that biologicals can also be used to support overall crop health and yield performance too. “If farmers are looking to boost their yield, they could achieve that with better germination or better root and shoot development, and biological solutions can be the answer for this too,” he says, noting that the best way for farmers to determine the right approach is to try the products. He recommends farmers start small, testing each solution on a small scale first before they scale up.
“Biologicals are all about crop optimization. Right now, there are so many options and opportunities to leverage these products, and that’s why we are testing the performance in our trials, so we can build a reliable database of information that we can reference and to show farmers the potential of these new solutions.”
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