Fusion 360’s agricultural products and technologies have their roots in more than 50 years of observation and testing. Even today, we continue to test our products and the claims we make about them.

In 2019, we conducted trials on two Idaho farms to measure the impact of our Fusion 360 Soil, Iota, and Foliar products on potato yields, in terms of the effect on weight and tuber count. Below are the results of the completed trials.

Potato Farm A (Grace, Idaho) – Fusion 360 Soil & Iota

On Potato Farm A, the grower’s standard fall fertilizer application was performed on a control field where no Fusion 360 products were applied.

For the test field, after the grower’s standard fall fertilizer application, 10 gallons of Fusion 360 Soil and 1 gallon of Iota were applied, and then watered in. Only a single application of product was performed.

In September 2019, tubers were harvested from rows located at multiple points throughout each of the two fields. The average number of tubers in a range of weight classes, and the average total weight of the tubers harvested in each weight class were as follows:

In the test field, there was a notable increase in the number of tubers weighing less than 11.5 ounces, and the yield as measured by weight.

In the control field, an average of 424.5 sacks per acre were harvested, versus an average of 474.0 sacks were acre harvested from the test field. This worked out to an average increase in yield of 49.5 sacks, or 11.7%.

Potato Farm B (Idaho Falls, Idaho) – Fusion 360 Foliar Mix

Concurrent to the first study, a similar, smaller test was performed on two fields on a farm in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The goal of this study was to demonstrate the change in yield produced using a custom foliar mix incorporating several Fusion 360 products.

On a control field, no Fusion 360 products were applied.

On the test field, applications of Fusion 360 Foliar were applied every two weeks over a period of two months.

The first two applications were comprised of the following:

• Foliar FG-31: 2 ½ gallons
• Keel 0-0-1: 2 quarts
• Integrity 9.5% Calcium: 1 gallon
• Integrity Z-422: 1 quart
• FG – Micros: 1 pint
• Iota 0-0-1: 1 pint
• K-Nite: 3 pounds
• Boron 10%: 3 ounces
• Silicone Surfactant: 3 ounces

These above ingredients were placed into a mix tank and blended with water (at a rate of the amounts listed above per 100 gallons of water). This mixture was applied to the field at a rate of 10 gallons per acre.

For the third and fourth applications, the amounts of FG-31, Integrity 9.5% Calcium, and Boron 10% were increased to:

• Foliar FG-31: 3 ½ gallons
• Integrity 9.5% Calcium: 1 ½ quarts
• Boron 10%: 5 ounces

In September 2019, tubers were harvested from a randomly selected area of each field. The number of tubers and the total yield weight broke down as follows:

The control field yielded an average of 267.9 sacks per acre, while the test field treated with the foliar mix yielded an average of 299.2 sacks per acre. This was an increase of 31.3 sacks per acre, or 11.7%.

It was noted that the control field yielded more potatoes weighing 11.6 ounces or more. But the test field more than compensated for this with a significant increase in the number of potatoes weighing 7.5 ounces or less.

The overall increase of tubers was evident in the samples collected. A total of 56 tubers were collected in the sample in the control field, while 92 were collected from the test field. This was an increase in quantity of 36 tubers, or 64%. The total control sample weighed 24.4 pounds, and the test sample weighed 27.2 pounds, an increase of 2.8 pounds, or 11.4%.

(Thumbnail photo credit: Henry Gartley, “Potato Field Aroostook County,” licensed via Pixabay License.)