The 2023 season sees the launch of OptiYield Consortium-Plus, a new and improved formulation of the well-known and trusted Consortium-Z .  Consortium-Plus incorporates an astonishing 15.5 times more microbes and includes one new species that in trials has been shown to release auxins, small peptides, volatiles and other active metabolites into the rhizosphere, which promote root branching and nutrient uptake capacity, thereby boosting plant growth and yield.

Previously, Consortium-Z was a liquid and was combined with another liquid organic, high-carbon food source called BugBoost.

The new formulation is a soluble, dispersible powder, dispensing of the need for bulky liquids transport and handling. Not only does the new formulation have increased microbial percentage and additional microbial species, Consortium-Plus now incorporates a completely new soluble powder based high-carbon, natural plant growth stimulant and microbial food source rich in amino acids, as well as humic and fulvic compounds. 

Trials have consistently shown that the Consortium range delivered the most prolific crop response when used in conjunction with BugBoost yielding both increases in tuber numbers and marketable yields, averaging between 12-20% depending on variety, soil type and circumstance.

With this new Consortium-Plus formulation, not only do farmers benefit from a complete product system in an easy-to-use format, but also from the fact that it averages £20/ha more cost-effective than other available mixtures. The practical benefits are that it is easier to transport and reduces the amount of packaging that needs to be disposed of on farm.

Consortium-Plus has been designed to improve soil health where it has been compromised by both poor cultivation/rotational practices and the overuse of inputs such as fertilisers, fungicides, nematicides and insecticides, ironically those that are supposed to support or improve crop health.

Unfortunately, soil health isn’t clear cut and can decline gradually and unnoticed over time with productivity decreases coinciding with increased susceptibility to disease and poor crop health.

The use of additional soil microbes should be considered a fundamental part of soil asset management and therefore critical to crop performance year on year. Consortium-Plus delivers soil health and yield benefits at a competitive cost/ha.