Effects of Sosdia^® Stress Abiotic Stress Mitigator on Corn Yield

• Sosdia Stress is an abiotic stress mitigator that helps reduce yield loss associated with stressful conditions.
• The active ingredient in Sosdia Stress is proline, an amino acid produced naturally by plants in response to abiotic stress such as drought, heat, and salinity.
• Proline helps plant cells protect against damage and maintain function during periods of stress in multiple ways, including balancing osmotic pressure, stabilizing proteins and membranes, and protecting against damage from reactive oxygen species.
• Research has shown that application of proline to corn can help induce tolerance to stress, resulting in enhanced antioxidant activity, reduced water loss, and better growth performance during periods of environmental stress (Ali et al., 2007; Mosaad et al., 2020; Ibrahim et al., 2022).
• Sosdia Stress abiotic stress mitigator can provide up to three weeks of stress mitigation.
• In corn, application at the VT growth stage is likely to provide the greatest benefit by increasing stress resilience during grain fill.

• A study was conducted in 2023 to evaluate the impact of Sosdia Stress on corn yield.
• On-farm trials were conducted at 129 locations across the U.S. Corn Belt (Figure 1).
• Trial fields were split between treated and non-treated areas with a 30-60 ft harvest buffer in between.
• Application timings varied across locations, from mid vegetative stages (V5-V8) to grain fill stages (R3-R6).
• Drought was widespread in summer of 2023 and most of the study fields experienced some degree of drought stress during the growing season (Figure 1).

• Treatment with Sosdia^® Stress significantly increased corn yield, by an average of 1.3 bu/acre across all locations (Figure 2).

Application Timing

• Application timing appeared to be of key importance in affecting yield outcome.
• Sosdia Stress provides up to three weeks of stress mitigation, so yield impact will depend on application timing relative to stress incidence and corn growth stage.
• In general, the greatest benefit would be expected in corn with an application around VT in corn experiencing drought stress during the reproductive growth stages, which is the most critical period for yield.
• The 2023 study included 32 locations where applications were made between V5 and V8 and 35 locations with applications between VT and R2.
• Vegetative stage applications did not show a yield benefit in this study; however, applications during early reproductive stages increased yield by an average of 3.0 bu/acre (Figure 3).

• Ali, Q., M. Ashraf, and H.U.R. Athar. 2007. Exogenously applied proline at different growth stages enhances growth of two maize cultivars grown under water deficit conditions. Pak. J. Bot., 39: 1133-1144.
• Ibrahim, A.A., A.E.T. Mageed, Y. Abohamid, H. Abdallah, M. El-Saadony, and S. AbuQamar. 2022. Exogenously applied proline enhances morph-physiological responses and yield of drought-stressed maize plants grown under different irrigation systems. Front. Plant Sci. 13. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.897027
• Mosaad, I.S.M., H.I.S. Ayman, M. Moustafa-Farag, and A.K. Seadh. 2020. Effect of exogenous proline application on maize yield and the optimum rate of mineral nitrogen under salinity stress, J. Plant Nutr. 43, 354–370. doi: 10.1080/01904167.2019.1676901