Fortify: the winning stimulation
RAGT’s Fortify brand aims to identify the best possible combination between seed and stimulation, to provide more robust, stress-resistant crops. Resulting from an eponymous research program set up in 2014, Fortify offers solutions to improve the yield of maize, sorghum, sunflower and, now, cocksfoot and tall fescue.
Fortify identifies the best stimulation for each plant species
Plant and seaweed extracts, nutrients, micro-organisms, amino acids, hormones, vitamins, etc. To challenge the many products currently available that promise improved plant growth and/or resistance to abiotic stress, RAGT has developed a robust method to identify the stimulation that best suits each cultivated species. Through in-depth analysis of the formulation and dosage adapted to each crop, RAGT identifies the most efficient combination.
A robust method, from lab to plot
Maize, sunflower, sorghum, fodder crops, oilseed rape, peas and soya have been tested for several years, with the aim of improving germination, uniform emergence, root growth, absorption and availability of nutrients… to ultimately increase yield! The identification of the best candidate for each species is based on a solid and rigorous method, including laboratory tests, evaluations under controlled conditions (germination rate, plant growth, water stress, root and air biomass, etc.), two-year field tests and optimisation of the industrial process.
Increasing performance, reducing risk
For maize and sorghum, for example, the Fortify method has highlighted the value of dual stimulation in seed treatment: hormonal, with cytokinin and auxin to improve plant growth, and nutritional, by improving the availability of nutrients in the soil. This increases performance and reduces risk.
The same objectives apply to sunflower, but not the same solution! In this case, the mixture of two bacterial strains naturally present in the soil obtains the best results. They produce plant hormones, which stimulate root growth, and also help make phosphorus and potassium soluble, while fixing atmospheric nitrogen, thereby increasing the availability of nutrients in the soil. The solution is encapsulated in order to preserve bacterial viability. Don’t think product, think solution: this is the commitment made by RAGT and its Fortify brand.
In the past ten years, there have been more than 200 associations, more than 80 products tested, between 10 and 15 new products per year and more than 5,000 annual microplot tests.
