On-Farm Research Results: Impact of Torque on Corn Yield

March 7, 2018

Laura Thompson - Former Extension Educator

Keith Glewen - Extension Educator Emeritus

Dave Varner - Nebraska Extension Associate Dean

Gary Zoubek - Emeritus Extension Educator

Jackson Stansell - On-Farm Research Assistant

This report synthesizes the results of seven Torque™ studies in Nebraska between 2010 and 2015. According to product information published by the manufacturer Monsanto BioAg, Torque is a growth promoter designed to improve soil microbial activity and enhance nutrient availability. In these studies Torque was applied as an in-furrow application.

Table 1. Site characteristics and production practices for Torque™ research sites where available*
Year	Location	Soil Texture	Previous Crop	Planting Date	Planting Rate (seeds/ac)	Row Spacing (inches)	Tillage	Irrigation
2010	Dodge	—	—	4/26/2010	—	—	—	Pivot
2011	Dodge	—	Corn	5/3/2011	—	—	—	Pivot
2013	Clay	Silt Loam	Corn	5/10/2013	34,000	30	Conventional	Pivot
2014	Clay	Silt Loam	Soybean	5/1/2014	33,000	30	No-Till	Pivot
2014	York	Silt Loam	Soybean	4/29/2014	34,000	30	Ridge	Pivot
2014	Saunders	Silty Clay Loam	CRP	5/18/2014	26,000	15	No-Till	None
2015	Saunders	Silty Clay Loam	Soybean	5/22/2015	28,000	15	No-Till	None
* Detailed site characteristics and production practices are not available for all sites. In these cases, a dash is used to indicate the data is not available.

The product was applied at a rate of 8 oz/acre in all studies except the two Saunders County studies, where it was applied at a rate of 16 oz/acre. Site-specific data is included in Table 1. Most studies reported data for yield and grain moisture; this data is presented in Table 2. Torque's active ingredient of 2 x 10^-7 percent lipo-chiooligosaccharide (LCO) is formulated for corn applications in an aqueous carrier accounting for more than 99% of the product.

Table 2. Corn yield and moisture data for Torque™ applied to corn organized by year and study location.
Study Information			Moisture (%)			Yield^† (bu/ac)
Year	County	Reps*	Torque	Check	P-Value	Torque	Check	Diff.	P-Value
2010	Dodge	—	15.2	15.3	0.052	178	180	-2	0.357
2011	Dodge	—	16.3	16.3	—	184	188	-4	0.055
2013	Clay	8	18.4	18.4	0.632	255.3	254.8	0.5	0.764
2014	Clay	6	16.9	16.8	0.175	284	283	1	0.216
2014	York	6	17	16.9	0.102	204	205	-1	0.382
2014	Saunders^A	5	16.9	16.4	0.18	181	164	17	0.014
2015	Saunders^A	8	14.64	14.58	0.045	215	213	2	0.149
* Number of replications is not available for all sites, however Nebraska On-Farm Research Network standards require a minimum of three replications for inclusion. ^† All data except for the 2010 data is corrected to 15.5% moisture. ^A Indicates that Torque was applied at a rate of 16 oz/acre at the site. At all other sites, Torque was applied at 8 oz/acre. Indicates yield is significantly lower for the Torque treatment at alpha = 0.1. Indicates yield is significantly higher for the Torque treatment at alpha = 0.1.

Summary In one of seven studies applying Torque resulted in a 17 bu/acre yield increase. At another site, Torque resulted in a 4 bu/acre yield decrease. The remaining five sites saw no statistical yield difference for using Torque.

This report has been posted to the Compendium of Research Reports on Use of Non-Traditional Materials for Crop Production, a searchable compilation of university research reports on non-traditional soil amendments and growth stimulants.

Nebraska On-Farm Research Network

For more information about the Nebraska On-Farm Research Network and to view other study results, visit https://cropwatch.unl.edu/on-farm-research.

Growers are currently working with Extension educators and specialists to establish protocols for 2018 studies. If you're interested, contact your local extension educator soon.

Find More Results from Nebraska On-Farm Research

A searchable database allows you to search over 600 studies dating back to 1990 by using keywords, filters, or an interactive county map. The results can also be sorted by year, comparison, county, irrigation status, crop, and topic. Learn more about this easy-to-use tool and see what other growers are testing and what might have application for your operation.

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