Finishing Strong: Late-Season Potassium & Boron Strategies to Maximize Yield and Test Weight

Описание: The last few yards of the season are where championships—and harvests—are won or lost.

In this From The Field finale, Gunther Kreps, Executive VP at AgXplore, takes us through the maturity phase—the stage where the crop is nearly there, but the right late-season moves can still make a big difference in yield, test weight, and ROI.

🌱 Key Topics Covered:
1. The 5 Phases of Crop Development – and Why Maturity Matters Most Right Now
From foundation and establishment to architecture and reproduction, Gunther recaps the year’s agronomy focus and zeroes in on the last critical stage—maturity. Here, nutrient timing and source-to-sink management determine how much potential you actually take across the finish line.

2. Potassium – The Unsung Hero of the Final Stretch

Highest demand comes late in the season—when plants are filling grain, pods, or bolls.

Directly tied to yield and test weight—heavier corn, denser beans, better marketability.

Why soil CEC and moisture levels dictate how much potassium you can actually deliver from the soil.

How foliar potassium acetate (like KSB or Nutri-K) can outpace other forms in efficiency—4.5x better uptake.

3. Boron – The “Traffic Cop” of Nutrient Movement

Boron mobilizes nutrients from leaves and stalks into the grain or fruiting sites.

Essential for late-season source-to-sink transfer—turning stored nutrition into yield.

Best paired with fungicide passes or dedicated R4–R5 applications in soybeans.

4. Source-to-Sink Movement Explained
Your leaves and stalks are nutrient warehouses. The goal in maturity is to empty those warehouses into the crop—kernels, pods, heads, or bolls. Boron directs the traffic, potassium fuels the load.

5. Late-Season Application Strategies

Spoon-feed potassium through the season—especially in lighter soils.

Include boron in late fungicide passes.

Use acetate forms of potassium for faster uptake and better utilization.

Don’t drop the ball after reproduction—yield is still in play.

🧠 Farmer Takeaways:
Don’t assume nitrogen is the top late-season priority—potassium is king in maturity.

Reallocate some fertility dollars into foliar passes that match crop demand, rather than relying solely on soil-applied nutrition.

Match nutrient form and timing to plant physiology—not the calendar.

Closing the season strong means balancing the base program with in-season adjustments.

“We get paid to haul weight, not volume. Heavy, dense grain is built in the last few weeks before harvest—and it takes potassium and boron to make that happen.” – Gunther Kreps

📅 Episode Aired: August 13, 2025
📺 Watch the full finale here: [Insert YouTube Link]
🔔 Subscribe to never miss future From The Field insights.

AgXplore | From The Field
Rooted in Agronomy. Focused on What Matters.

#FromTheField #LateSeasonAgronomy #Potassium #Boron #SourceToSink #YieldStrategy #TestWeight #Corn #Soybeans #CropNutrition #AgXplore