Soybean in Goiás: 40% less nitrogen fertilizer without losing yield

The challenge

A 1,200-hectare soybean operation in the Goiás cerrado faced the same problem as much of Brazil's Center-West: the cost of nitrogen rising season after season, squeezing margins without a guaranteed proportional return in yield. The grower's question was blunt — can I cut fertilizer without risking the harvest?

The solution

BioPulse installed the biological nitrogen fixation package, combining high-performance diazotrophic strains, a treatment compatible with the farm's seed management, and nodulation monitoring throughout the cycle.

It was not a single product, but a system:

• screening the right strain for the soil and variety;
• a formulation that protects the bacteria during seed treatment;
• nodulation monitoring and adjustment of the mineral N rate.

Inside the package

The technologies came from the BioPulse Base Platform, selected for the cerrado soybean system:

• **high-efficiency Bradyrhizobium** as the foundation of nodulation;
• **co-inoculation with Azospirillum**, stimulating the root system and widening the infection window;
• a formulation with cell protectant, keeping cells viable through seed treatment even alongside the farm's chemical management;
• a nodulation monitoring protocol (nodule count and mass between V4 and R1), which guided the progressive, safe cut of mineral N — season by season, not all at once.

The result

Over three seasons, the farm reduced 40% of nitrogen fertilizer while keeping yield within its historical range — with no loss in harvest. Season-to-season consistency was the deciding factor: the package stopped being a trial and became the operation's standard.

"We cut 40% of nitrogen fertilizer and kept productivity. The BioPulse package is now standard on our farm." — Henrique Salles, grower · Goiás, Brazil

Want to understand the science behind this result? Read how biological nitrogen fixation works.