Yield potential may look great in the field, but growers cannot sell potential. They need actual bushels in the bin. With unpredictable weather, increasing disease pressure and shifting grain markets, the decisions growers make now could have a major impact at harvest.
Weather conditions across the Midwest have varied widely. Some areas experienced delayed planting and excessive moisture, while others began the season dry before receiving timely rainfall. No matter the location, crops are in a demanding stage of development.
As corn and soybean crops move into their critical grain-fill stage, Emily Swartz, Helena Product Specialist based in Indiana, said growers should focus on helping the plant make the most of the nutrition they have absorbed throughout the season.
“It’s about leveraging that nutrition in the plant and moving it into the grain to enhance that grain fill, and Fullscale is a bio-stimulant that enhances the plant's ability to do that.”
Emily Swartz, Helena Product Specialist
Fullscale is a plant extract-based biostimulant designed to enhance the plant’s natural ability to remobilize nutrients. As corn and soybeans transition from vegetative growth into reproduction, the product helps support pollination, kernel set, pod retention, and grain fill.
Brad Hammes, Helena Product Specialist based in Iowa, said Fullscale stands out because its multiple plant extracts were intentionally selected to support several plant functions rather than targeting only one process.
“It’s a joke that I’ve made for years, but I’ve still never met a farmer who is able to sell a bushel of yield potential,” Hammes said. “It’s all about how we actually realize those bushels.”
Brad Hammes, Helena Product Specialist
That means helping corn increase kernel depth and test weight while supporting soybean seed size and pod retention. Fullscale also differs from traditional plant growth regulators, or PGRs. Instead of forcing one specific response, its plant extracts help the crop activate the PGRs it already produces naturally.
Swartz described soybeans as “the queen of multitasking” because the plant may be flowering, setting pods, filling pods, and growing at the same time. This makes a flexible, plant-driven approach especially valuable.
Fullscale also features Helena’s ENC® Formulation Technology, which helps move nutrients and biostimulants through the leaf surface and into the plant. This allows growers to get more activity from a foliar application while using an efficient application rate.
Timing is critical. In corn, Swartz recommends applying Fullscale between tasseling and green silk, when pollination and kernel set are still active.
“At green silk, you’re still setting kernels,” Swartz said. “At brown silk, they’re all set. The only thing you can do once you hit brown silk and beyond is lose kernels.”
Emily Swartz, Helena Product Specialist
For soybeans, the ideal window is generally between the R2 and R3 growth stages, when blooms and small pods are developing. Fullscale can also be tank-mixed with a fungicide and an appropriate Helena adjuvant to improve coverage and application efficiency.
After 10 years of field research, Fullscale has delivered an average yield advantage of approximately five bushels per acre in corn. Soybean trials have shown increases of three to four bushels per acre, along with an 82% win rate across long-term yield data.
With global weather concerns and grain prices beginning to strengthen, growers have more reason to protect and maximize every possible bushel.
As Hammes explained, “That five bushels is going to make a big difference.”
Growers should contact their local Helena representative to determine how Fullscale, fungicides, foliar nutrition, and the right adjuvant can fit into their in-season crop strategy. Check out the FieldLink Podcast anywhere you listen to hear more about Fullscale.