The latest crop protection trial highlights

Each year, Corteva Agriscience collaborates with universities and retailers to run field trials using its crop protection products. These findings help dealers and product specialists recommend the right products that will perform effectively for each customer’s operation. 

Corteva Agriscience U.S. Crop Protection Technical Lead Eric Scherder, Ph.D., explained how these trials translate into usable recommendations each year. 

“Trial data, regardless of the product you're looking for, gives you – as a consumer, a sales representative, or a retailer – the confidence to make that recommendation or utilize that given product,” Scherder said. “Having consistent trial data makes a lot of sense so you can evaluate a new product in your operation or retail location.”

The main thing consumers look for in trial data is consistency. 

“We're looking for products or modes of action that have provided consistent control year over year, whether that's disease control, weed control or nitrogen stabilizers,” Scherder said. “That's why we bring our retailers in and share the results with them early so they can see what the data is actually showing.”

Scherder also notes it’s important to continue utilizing field trials as crop protection product offerings continue to evolve and to discern how they work with the latest hybrid seed species and offerings. 

Here are the latest trial data results.

Forcivo^™ fungicide

• +17 bu/A advantage versus untreated
• +3.3 bu/A advantage versus competitors¹

“Especially when you think about fungicides in general, the longer we can keep that plant healthy, clean, and free from disease, the more opportunity we are going to have to really maximize yield potential,” Scherder said. “If you have better plant health, you typically will have better stalk integrity and overall standability later in the season.”

Resicore^® REV herbicide

• +16 bu/A advantage compared with Storen herbicide followed by Lexar EZ herbicide² 
• +14 bu/A advantage compared with Surtain herbicide followed by Status and Zidua SC herbicides²

“Season-long weed control and not continuing to feed and replenish the weed seed bank is why more growers are continually reaching for Resicore REV herbicide,” Scherder said. “They see the value, the really clean fields, the flexibility and the timing, which really leads to good weed control.”

N-Serve^® nitrogen stabilizer

• 31% of nitrogen in the ammonium form kept in the soil with N-Serve nitrogen stabilizer compared with 19% in unstabilized soil in the fall³
• +18 bu/A advantage compared to unstabilized acres³

Instinct NXTGEN^® nitrogen stabilizer

• 39% of nitrogen in the ammonium form kept in the soil for six weeks after application compared with 27% in unstabilized samples in sidedress applications³
• +5 bu/A advantage compared to unstabilized acres³

“When you start looking at some of the data, we have six to eight more weeks of nitrogen in the soil, which translates to higher yield potential,” Scherder said. “With the high prices right now, it is imperative growers manage nitrogen.” 

Sonic^® Boom herbicide

• 21 fl oz of Sonic Boom herbicide applied preemergence offered a 28 bu/A advantage versus untreated and 99% control of harsh weeds like waterhemp, yellow foxtail and ivyleaf morningglory for 28 days after application⁴

Kyber^® Pro herbicide

• 16 fl oz of Kyber Pro herbicide applied preemergence delivered a 28 bu/A advantage versus untreated and 99% control of difficult weeds like waterhemp and ivyleaf morningglory for 28 days after application⁴

“In soybean herbicides, we’re really trying to bring in underutilized modes of action,” Scherder said. “When you think about some of our key driver weeds being waterhemp or amaranth species, metribuzin, which is in both Sonic Boom and Kyber Pro, does a really nice job on these weeds and brings back an underutilized mode of action.”

It’s imperative to look at trial data as a whole and over multiple years to make the best recommendations going forward for the grower. Results can fluctuate because of weather conditions. The key is using the available data plus historical knowledge of typical weather patterns to help develop a successful program approach. 

“The last thing we want is for someone not to utilize our product and have poor results when we know we could have delivered better weed control, nitrogen stabilization, or disease control,” Scherder said. “All we're trying to do is help improve what growers are doing each season and having multiple years of trial data helps demonstrate that consistency.”

¹Yield potential based on Corteva Agriscience and Pioneer field trials. 

²2025 University of Illinois Urbana Corn Systems Trial. Rates tested: Resicore^® Rev herbicide 1.5 qt/A at preemergence and 1.5 qt/A 28 days later; Storen 1.8 qt/A and Lexar EZ 1.8 qt/A Surtain 14 fl oz/A at premergence; Status 5 oz wt/A; Zidua SC 2.7 fl oz/A 28 days later. Status, Surtain and Zidua SC are trademarks of BASF Agricultural Solutions US LLC. Lexar EZ and Storen are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company.

³ Fall-applied: Samples depicted in data above were taken across 15 sites with 9 sites in Illinois, 2 sites in Iowa, 3 sites in Minnesota and 1 site in Missouri. This represents the average across the 15 sites. The Nitrogen and Nitrogen Stabilizer applications occurred in Fall 2024 prior to samples beginning to be taken. Sidedress: Samples depicted in data above were taken across 27 sites across multiple states. There were 13 sites in Illinois, 4 sites in Indiana, 2 sites in Iowa, 2 sites in Michigan, 3 sites in Nebraska and 3 sites in Ohio. This represents the average across the 27 sites.

⁴2023 University of Missouri Evaluation of Two-Pass Herbicide Programs for Weed Control in Soybean Trial. Rates tested: Sonic^® Boom herbicide 21 fl oz/A at preemergence and Kyber^® Pro herbicide 16 fl oz/A at preemergence. Percentage of control was observed 28 days after preemergence applications. 

Lexar EZ is a Restricted Use Pesticide. Forcivo^™, Instinct NXTGEN^®, Kyber^® Pro, Resicore^® REV and Sonic^® Boom are not registered for sale or use in all states. Resicore REV is not available for sale, distribution or use in Nassau and Suffolk counties in the state of New York. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your state. Consult the label before purchase or use for full details. Do not fall-apply anhydrous ammonia south of Highway 16 in the state of Illinois. Performance may vary based on crop, pest pressure, agronomic practices, environmental conditions, and application timing. Always read and follow label directions.