What is ACF-SR and why do you need it?
AdvancedAg’s ACF-SR is a plant growth-promoting bacterium that utilizes five species of bacteria to improve soil and plant health. The five species of bacteria and their functions are:
- Rhodopseudomonas palustris – fixes nitrogen
- Bacillus licheniformis – provides plant growth hormones
- Nitosomonas europaea – converts ammonia to plant-available nitrate and solubilizes phosphate
- Nitrobacter winogradskyi – converts nitrite to nitrate and locked up phosphate to water-soluble phosphate
- Bacillus subtillis – converts locked up phosphate to plant-available phosphate
The bacteria are active in the Rhizosphere around the roots to ensure optimal plant health. The benefits of the bacteria are that they work together to produce the functions listed above. These five functions aid the plants in making more efficient use of the existing fertility and the synthetic fertilizers that you add.
How are the bacteria applied?
The best application of ACF-SR is in-furrow, which places it directly into the soil. This allows easy access of nutrients to the roots and promotes plant health from the beginning of the seedling stage. The ACF-SR is placed in the soil using seeding equipment that has a liquid kit. Another common method used is through a sprayer application. Spraying should be done late in the day or evening for the bacteria solution to be fully absorbed into the soil.
Right side: Untreated. Left side: Treated with ACF and TK-10.
Best Application and Results for Annual Crops
Cereals, Pulses & Oilseeds
The recommendation for applying ACF-SR to cereals, pulses, and oilseeds is twice per season. We suggest the first application at or near seeding with two gallons per acre. Apply again approximately four to six weeks after the first applications, using the same rate of two gallons per acre. When using the sprayed-on method it should be done late in the day or evening, allowing the bacteria solution of two gallons per acre of product and eight gallons per acre of water to be fully absorbed. The bacteria do best when they avoid sunlight and hot dry soil surfaces. Depending on growing conditions, you can apply it again until the desired results are achieved.
Application Tips for Grass & Alfalfa
For grass and alfalfa, we recommend an application in the early spring of two gallons per acre of bacteria with 8 gallons per acre of water. The application is done during the active growth of springtime. The second application should be applied 4-5 days after the first cut at two gallons per acre with eight gallons of water per acre. The bacteria do not like sunlight and hot, dry conditions, so always spray heading into the evening.
Right side: Original pasture sprayed ACF-SR (May 11, 2020). Left side: Field 12 days after being treated (May 23, 2020).
How is it made?
ACF-SR is created through a brewing process and is made up of two components – a dry and a liquid ingredient. The brewing kit requires 300 gallons of water to get the desired amounts of bacteria, and it takes 72 hours to brew one batch. To start the brewing process, a tank of water is heated up to 27 degrees. Once it reaches this temperature, the dry component goes in and is aerated for 48 hours. The liquid component is then added and brews for an extra 24 hours. After this is done, ACF-SR is ready to use! The bacteria have a 30-day shelf life, so there is a 30-day window for application when the brewing process is complete. After this time, the multiplying bacteria will begin dominating one another, disrupting the stability between the five species.
At Top Krop Fertilizers, we have dealers that are set up to brew, so farmers and ranchers can purchase the solution in 1000L totes or in bulk. Call your Top Krop rep today to purchase or learn more about the benefits of incorporating plant growth-promoting bacteria into your current fertilizer program.