We View Crop Agronomy Differently
Our company started with a relentless passion for growing extremely high-quality produce for discriminating customers. We have taken that knowledge and turned it into a Method that can help growers achieve the success they didn’t think possible.
After 10 years of helping growers to access organic markets, regenerate soils, solve complex agronomic problems, and unlock the full potential of their cherished varieties, our system is resilient enough to perform exceptionally well under the harshest of circumstances.
Key differences between the Apical Method and all other forms of crop improvement:
1) Reducing Limitations for the Crop
Others look for ways to apply additional nutrients, Apical starts every detailed recommendation by looking at the potential overfertilization and/or excess nutrients. Top agronomists across the world understand the challenges associated with salt stress and Apical has become a world leader in the diagnosis of salt accumulation in soils and plants.
But the challenge doesn’t stop there, salt stress is just one of the potential plant toxins that are common. In fact, any plant nutrient when applied in excess can become a toxin to the plant. This is one of the challenges of managing fertilization in agriculture systems.
When plants don’t have access to sufficient amounts of key nutrients, their growth suffers. However, what is left out of this discussion, is that when nutrients are applied in EXCESS AMOUNTS, they impact the intake of other key nutrients. This is known as nutrient antagonism.
2) Antagonistic Behavior
Through a careful analysis of data over thousands of samples, we have found that most often, nutrient antagonism is at the core of crops not expressing their true potential. This leads to dissatisfied farmers.
The opportunity for farmers to save money by limiting their inputs is there if they can figure out which inputs to not overapply. This is the key value proposition of Apical’s Leaf Extract Analysis, the most advanced form of plant sap analysis on the market today.
By continuously monitoring the plants nutrients in relation to the vitality in the field, the grower can reduce risk, and work steadily towards increasing yield and improving quality.
3) Always Providing Value
Apical’s leaf, soil, and water analysis for 1st-time growers have an integrated system that feeds off itself to provide the opportunity for continuous improvement.
- The Water Test has Quality Assurance of PPB (part per billion) sensitivity.
- Apical’s Leaf and Soil analysis correlate over 90% of the time and consistently shows the grower even greater insight into nutrient distribution into deep roots, shallow roots, and bottom and top of the plants.
Apical is the only agronomy service in the world currently looking at a consistent stream of data from each of these 4 critical plant-environment interfaces
4) Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative
Through Leaf Extract Analysis, Apical has become a world leader in the identification of crop limiting stress points and their location throughout the plant-soil matrix.
By starting every recommendation focused on the application of buffering agents such as Carbon, Silicon, or microbial inputs, the grower is advised to focus on the simplest way to unlock value in the crop. Often, we are consulted to fix problems where the primary problem is overfertilization. This is a costly problem, and we can help you solve it—precisely.
2 for the price of 1 – Always a Better Deal
Every Apical Soil Recommendation comes with both:
- Bulk dried bulk mineral amendments (fall) and/or NPK crop demand (spring)
- Liquid micronutrients and carbon to solve short-term acute plant stress
Every Leaf Recommendation comes with both:
- Soil applied liquids for mitigating root stress, providing key macronutrients, and soil amendments
- Foliar applied liquids for accurate micronutrients, plant amendments, and biotic stimulants
5) Life and the Platform it Lives On
All Apical recommendations include an assessment of the crop’s demand for Carbon in both the root zone and in the plant. Many include a recommendation for biology applied to the soil and/or leaf surface.
By integrating the mineral needs of the plant with the carbon status as well as the biotic interface between the plant and the environment, the grower has access to the same tools that Mother Nature uses daily to assess crops.
