Nielsen Seeds is a family-run seed business located in Hargrave, Manitoba, near Virden. It is owned and operated by Soren and Rebecca Nielsen. Today they share their experience treating their seed with Accolade®, a premium biological growth enhancement liquid manufactured by Verdesian Life Sciences. Accolade delivers massive numbers of rhizobacteria to the root zone for maximum benefit to the emerging seedling and throughout the growing season.
Nielsen Seeds: Before selling Accolade to our customers, we trialed it on farm and in small plots to learn about the product and ensure there was a strong opportunity for a meaningful ROI for our customers. This is something we like to do for any new product we are introduced to.
We have now been applying Accolade through our treater for over five years. We treat mostly cereals with Accolade through the treater, but we also see nice results from adding Accolade to starter fertilizer when planting corn. For peas and soybeans, we are very happy with Primo GX2 granular inoculant — this inoculant includes Azospirillum, the active ingredient in Accolade. What we have noticed over the years is that Accolade does its job exceedingly well, and even increases its return on investment when there is adversity like drier or wetter conditions. This makes sense as we have done several root digs over the years and seen that it achieves what it claims to do — the bacteria in Accolade, called Azospirillum, helps stimulate the plant to grow more roots. By having a larger, more robust root system, the plant can go find more moisture and nutrients in drier conditions and weather the storm of wetter conditions better. We have learned there is more going on in the ground with Accolade than just growing more roots. Other benefits, like fixing small amounts of nitrogen in the root zone and helping to solubilize some phosphate, have been studied and documented.
Accolade really should be part of a grower’s program on every acre. Accolade is an efficient tool that provides insurance that more than pays for its premium! One industry colleague has commented that it is the most underrated product he has seen in his career. I think this is simply due to a lack of exposure and experience. I am glad to see Verdesian putting some effort behind the product so more growers are aware of the numerous benefits of Accolade for their farm.
We would love to see how we can help you & your operation this season. If you are near us in Manitoba, please contact Nielsen at +1 204-851-0225. Otherwise, if you are elsewhere in Canada, contact Verdesian at vlsci.com/ca or +1 306-341-4776 to find the supplier nearest you.
