During the 2025/26 growing season, EMNZ evaluated EM Balance in a commercial Wattie’s process pea crop at Sheffield, Canterbury.
The trial was designed to answer a straightforward question: could adding a biological programme improve pea crop performance under normal commercial growing conditions?
At harvest, the EM Balance-treated crop produced a 13.4% increase in adjusted yield compared with the standard programme.
Testing EM Balance at Commercial Scale
Rather than a small research plot, the trial was conducted across commercial areas of the paddock using normal farm application, crop management and harvesting practices.
This allowed EM Balance to be evaluated within the same production system experienced by a commercial process pea grower.
EM Balance is an EMNZ biological soil and crop amendment combining beneficial microorganisms with fish hydrolysate, amino acids, and humic and fulvic substances.
Rather than simply supplying additional crop nutrition, the programme is designed to support biological processes associated with nutrient cycling, root activity and overall plant performance.
A 13.4% Increase in Adjusted Yield
The most important result came at harvest.
The standard programme produced an adjusted yield of 7.61 t/ha, while the EM Balance-treated area produced 8.63 t/ha.
That's an additional 1.02 t/ha, representing a 13.4% increase in adjusted yield.
Paid yield also increased, from 8.31 t/ha in the standard area to 9.18 t/ha with EM Balance, an increase of approximately 10.5%.
For EMNZ, the significance of the result is that the response was achieved under genuine commercial growing conditions rather than within a controlled small-plot environment.
Why Peas Are an Interesting Crop for Biological Inputs
Peas have a relatively short growing season in which to establish roots, develop canopy and ultimately build yield.
As a legume, they also have an important relationship with microorganisms around the root zone, including the biological processes involved in nitrogen fixation.
Supporting the wider soil and plant biological system may therefore offer another way to improve crop efficiency alongside conventional crop nutrition and management.
This is the approach behind EM Balance – supporting the biological environment around the plant rather than simply supplying more nutrients.
Building the Evidence
A 13.4% adjusted yield increase in a commercial pea crop is an encouraging result and supports further investigation of EM Balance in pea production.
However, a single commercial field trial should not be viewed in isolation. Seasons, soils and growing conditions vary, and further replicated work is needed before broader conclusions can be made.
For EMNZ, this trial provides another valuable piece of evidence alongside our wider New Zealand research programme across cereals, maize, pasture, forage and horticultural crops.
Our aim is to continue testing biological inputs under genuine commercial conditions and build a stronger understanding of where they can deliver measurable value to New Zealand growers.
