Unique stubble solution delivers multiple cropping benefits
Jamie Cox, Eastern Seaboard Regional Account Manager with Elemental Enzymes, said rather than relying on high humidity and moisture for high microbial activity with other digesters, the enzyme base with RES+ allowed the breakdown to happen with very low moisture and the humectant helped keep the enzyme active.
GROWERS and agronomists are looking forward to accelerating stubble breakdown and improving nutrient availability, in turn creating a more favourable environment for following crops, as a unique residue management tool continues to gain traction across the country.
RES+ is an enzyme-based residue-degrading product developed by US-based life sciences company Elemental Enzymes and is marketed and distributed through ADAMA Australia.
In addition to the cellulase enzyme that differentiates it from conventional or live microbial stubble digesters, RES+ also features chelated nutrients to boost microbial activity and a humectant to retain moisture – expediting residue breakdown even under low-moisture conditions.
Jamie Cox, Eastern Seaboard Regional Account Manager with Elemental Enzymes, said moisture was required to activate it however, and the ideal time to apply was as soon as these conditions presented after harvest.
“RES+ is not a living biological product, so it needs moisture. It also doesn’t behave like a knockdown herbicide, so you are not going to see results almost immediately, but the longer you give it, the better it works,” Jamie said.
“Rather than relying on high humidity and moisture for high microbial activity with other digesters, the enzyme base with RES+ allows the breakdown to happen with very low moisture and the humectant helps keep the enzyme active.
“For best results, apply Res+ with your herbicide during post-harvest clean-up or fallow spraying. The Res+ remains on the stubble until it is activated by rainfall, allowing more time for effective stubble decomposition.
“It also offers excellent tank-mix flexibility and compatibility with existing spray programs.
Some of the ideal crop stubbles for application of the enzyme-based technology include cereals, maize, canola, cotton, sorghum and pulses.
Jamie said growers and agronomists already were showing strong confidence in the potential for RES+ to accelerate stubble breakdown, plus deliver a range of other benefits.
“Growers are certainly looking forward to faster residue breakdown and easier planting conditions.”
“They are wanting cleaner seedbeds for more consistent crop establishment and they are keen to release more nutrients back into the system for following crops.
“They are also expecting improved soil biology activity and are hoping to reduce paddock passes.”
Ross Pomroy's property at Bell in Queensland’s Darling Downs region; Ros is also an Agronomist with Nutrien Ag Solutions at Dalby and had good success with RES+ for residue breakdown prior to planting.
Ross Pomroy, who is a highly experienced Agronomist with Nutrien Ag Solutions at Dalby on the Darling Downs, also has a small property at Bell, and he has faced his own stubble management problems.
“There can be 5-6 tonnes (per hectare) of dry matter that’s sitting up or lying down, with long stalks. There’s a lot of nutrition in that to break down and you want those nutrients when planting a legume,” Ross said.
Last year, Ross applied the RES+ in a strip trial and tank-mixed it with grass and broadleaf herbicides to target small weeds.
“I have used other products in the exact same situation, applied with foliar N to feed the bacteria, but they did not achieve the same result as RES+.
“In the RES+ strips, there was a lot less leaf matter and the stalks were breaking down quicker and becoming more fibrous.
“We had no problems planting into those areas on the 20-inch spacings. The stubble was just breaking up and flowing substantially better than where we didn’t use it.”
Jamie said Res+ improved stubble and residue trafficability, enabling smoother and more efficient planting operations.
He said from an agronomy perspective, RES+ helped unlock the value of retained stubble by supporting microbial activity and nutrient cycling, particularly in high-residue farming systems.
“The bigger the residue load, the greater the opportunity for improved nutrition, disease hygiene and planting conditions for the following crop.”
“The bigger the residue load, the greater the opportunity for improved nutrition, disease hygiene and planting conditions for the following crop.”
RES+ supports disease management by reducing the amount of infected crop residue that remains in the paddock, and which can act as a disease host between seasons.
“Agronomists recognise that while it’s not a disease-control product, it can play an important role in integrated disease management by quickly breaking down crop residues that may harbour disease inoculum between seasons,” Jamie said.
“RES+ transforms crop residue from a potential disease reservoir into a valuable source of recycled nutrients, supporting healthier paddocks and more productive cropping systems.”
Applied up until four weeks before planting, RES+ has achieved excellent results on winter cereal, canola and pulse stubbles, as well as ahead of cotton, sorghum and cane plantings.
In a long-term wheat-on-wheat site at Katanning in Western Australia, applications before sowing consistently achieved 5-7 per cent yield gains annually over four years.
Looking ahead, ADAMA and Elemental Enzymes plan to launch further products including a ground-breaking biological fungicide to target the growing foliar disease threat in broadacre crops. Powered by Elemental Enzymes’ patented peptide technology, the new biofungicide will deliver a novel mode of action for disease control.
For further information on the RES+ stubble digester, agronomists and growers can contact their local ADAMA Australia representative or visit ADAMA.com.
Media Contact:
Paige Conroy | Marketing Manager | D: 0486 341 745 |