DPH Biologicals and UIUC Partner to Manage Crop Residue

DPH Biologicals and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) are teaming up to validate the impact biologicals make to accelerate decomposition of crop residue, with the goal of unlocking the adoption of more sustainable and profitable farming practices.

Starting in spring of 2023, the UIUC Crop Physiology Lab run by Fred Below, Ph.D. and Connor Sible, Ph.D., began researching the impact of microbial solutions in crop residue management including the use of TerraTrove® Residuce®, technology developed by DPH Bio. Residuce is a biodigester, a biological specifically formulated to accelerate the process of plant tissue degradation.

“Supporting Dr. Below’s lab is an opportunity to ground-truth the benefits of biodigesters, understand how technologies like Residuce can enable more sustainable and profitable cropping practices and to develop best practice use recommendations supporting our retail and channel partners with high-value, science-verified cropping solutions,” said Alex Cochran, Ph.D., DPH Bio’s Chief Technology Officer.

A cereal cover crop planted into corn residue for research into the benefits of biodigesters in crop residue management. Photo courtesy of UIUC Crop Physiology Lab.

First-year results were unveiled this week by UIUC graduate student Darby Danzl at the 2023 ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting, held jointly by the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America and the Soil Science Society of America. Using Residuce on an unmanaged cereal rye cover crop partially eliminated the nearly nine-bushel yield penalty average experienced when a cover crop is planted between no-till corn and soybean rotations and the yield penalty was nearly fully eliminated when a fertilizer source was combined with Residuce.

DPH Bio recently published “Rethinking Crop Residue Management with Biodigesters,” an analysis of research into crop residue management, includes work already completed by the UIUC crop physiology lab as well as DPH Bio’s field trial results. The UIUC-DPH partnership will expand upon the research and benefits of biodigesters presented in the white paper.

Learn more in this interview:
Audio interview with DPH Bio Chief Technology Officer Alex Cochran 29:30