Since Elicit Plant launched Best-a corn in 2021, the number of users of the phytosterol-based solution has grown steadily. The results speak for themselves. Like many others, these farmers are affected by water shortage or difficult access to irrigation water. They testify that adding Best-a, our solution against drought stress for maize, to their crop itinerary has enabled the corn to withstand the lack of water during summer and, at harvest time, to demonstrate excellent results in terms of yield.
Thomas and Stéphanie Azéma, corn growers in south-west France
“At 14,990 kg per hectare, we’ve been able to obtain yields that we hadn’t achieved in a decade!”
“Last season, we applied Best-a to 50 hectares,” explain Thomas and Stéphanie Azéma, corn growers in the southwest of France. “We saw incredible results just a few months later: very uniform plots with regular ears of corn, no tip back, and extraordinary leaf mass.” At harvest, the Best-a treated plot yielded 14,990 kg per hectare, compared with 12,000 kg per hectare for the control, that is between €500 and €530 more per hectare. “We’ve been able to obtain yields that we hadn’t achieved in a decade!” rejoice the mother-and-son team.
Volodymyr Yakovenko, cereal farmer in Ukraine
“Larger spikes with more rows and more grains.”
In Ukraine, where Volodymyr Yakovenko farms around 1,500 hectares, the phytosterols in Best-a also helped to boost harvests by between 800 and 900 kilograms, despite an extremely dry summer. “On the plots treated with Best-a, the spikes were larger, had more rows and more grains in a row,” noted the cereal grower. “The lower tier of leaves was greener than it was on the untreated corn.”
Adrien Leroy, Océalia advisor
“On better land nearby, the effects of water shortage could already be seen.”
“We delayed the first water applications because it was clear that the corn was not suffering,” explains Guillaume Delusset, a farmer in the Charente region of France. “Most of the plots around the Best-a treated plot had completely declined during June,” confirms Adrien Leroy, his Océalia advisor. “On better land nearby, the effects of water shortage could already be seen, while on the plots treated with Best-a, the corn was in good health!” Yield on these plots reached 10,000 kilograms, a result that the farmer is not usually able to achieve, even in good conditions.
Alban Chimbault, crop manager
“Three weeks after stopping irrigation, we could see that the Best-a treated part remained very green.”
At Alban Chimbault’s farm in the Vienne region of France, the effects were not immediately visible. The difference between the control plot and the phytosterol-treated plot became visible around mid-July, when irrigation ceased. “Three weeks after stopping irrigation, we could see that the Best-a treated part remained very green while the control was drying out,” underlines the crop manager. This impression was confirmed at harvest, with an extra 2,500 kilograms per hectare from the treated area. “It’s highly profitable,” he concludes. An opinion that is clearly shared!
