With maize crops being established across New Zealand, growers are focused on achieving strong early growth, efficient nutrient use and maximum dry matter production.
While fertiliser management remains fundamental, research conducted in New Zealand is highlighting the potential benefits of incorporating biological products into conventional maize programmes.
At EMNZ, our maize trials have produced encouraging results with both EM Fert Enhance and Plant-Stim.
Fert Enhance Delivers 14% More Dry Matter
In an independent Waikato maize trial, EM Fert Enhance increased dry matter yield from 30.0 to 34.2 tonnes per hectare, representing a 14% improvement over the untreated control.
This additional 4.2 tonnes of dry matter per hectare demonstrates the potential value of incorporating biological inputs into maize production systems.
EM Fert Enhance is a solid microbial product designed to be incorporated into fertiliser programmes, supporting soil biological activity and nutrient cycling.
Plant-Stim Shows Promise in Reduced-Nitrogen Programmes
A separate Hawke's Bay maize trial investigated biological products alongside reduced nitrogen inputs.
The programme combining Plant-Stim with 40 kg N/ha produced 29.45 t DM/ha, compared with 23.94 t DM/ha in the untreated control — an increase of approximately 23%.
EM Soil & Crop, also combined with 40 kg N/ha, produced a similarly encouraging result of 29.30 t DM/ha.
These findings highlight opportunities to investigate biological products alongside conventional nitrogen management, although results will vary with growing conditions and crop management.
Building a Biological Maize Programme
EMNZ offers several products that can complement existing maize fertiliser and crop management practices:
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EM Fert Enhance: A solid microbial amendment suitable for incorporation into fertiliser programmes.
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EM Balance: A liquid biological formulation designed to support soil health and biological activity.
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Plant-Stim: A plant biostimulant applied during active growth to support crop development.
As maize crops move through their vegetative growth stages, there is an opportunity to incorporate Plant-Stim into planned crop management programmes.
Interested in Trialling EMNZ on Your Maize?
With encouraging results from New Zealand field research, EMNZ is working with growers and distributors to explore practical biological programmes for maize production.
Contact our team to discuss product recommendations, application timing or on-farm trial opportunities.
Learn more at www.emnz.com.
