Mastering VIXERAN® Application: Top Tips for Optimal Results

02 February 2026, UK: If you’re a grower looking to improve nitrogen use efficiency on your farm, VIXERAN^® can help you fill that gap between your crops’ nitrogen supply and demand. Effective on a range of crops from cereals to potatoes, fruit, and veg and compatible with other crop protection products, this nitrogen-fixing biofertiliser will improve your yield in a more sustainable way. So how can you use it for best results? Our Field Technical Manager Andy Cunningham shares his top tips for getting the best out of your applications.  

Timing is everything  

For growers looking to optimise crop yield and quality from the get-go, applying VIXERAN^® at the point when the crop is demanding its nitrogen requirement the most is key. With winter cereal crops, this is at the mid-tillering to start of stem elongation.  

“With cereals, we recommend applying VIXERAN^® from mid to late tillering, because the more tillers a crop can produce or retain, the potential increases for a higher yield,” says Andy.   

However, that’s not to say that later applications won’t be beneficial in certain crops. Syngenta is looking at later applications in the plant’s life cycle, and while they will likely have less of an impact on yield, they can improve quality. Data on milling wheat shows that later VIXERAN^® applications significantly improved grain protein content.  

Apply when conditions are right  

Applying VIXERAN^® when the conditions are right is also crucial for best results. The bacteria in the product, Azotobacter salinestris, is active when temperatures are anywhere above zero degrees. However, it works best if you apply it on days where it reaches 10-12°C and beyond. In warmer temperatures, the bacteria are more active and will multiply faster, ensuring good colonisation of the plant.  

To make sure the bacteria can get into the plant, it’s important that you have an actively growing crop. That’s because one of the main routes the bacteria use to get into the plant is through the foliage via the stomata. If the stomata are closed, it stops the bacteria from getting in. Another point of entry is through the root cracks and root hairs, and an actively growing crop that requires nitrogen will happily use the nitrogen provided by the bacteria for growth and development.  

“If you’ve got an actively growing crop, you’re going to have a bacteria that is able to supply nitrogen for growth and development of that crop, which is exactly what you want. If you’re applying this bacteria when the crop is relatively dormant, the bacteria is not really needed. Applying VIXERAN^® when the crop is active and requiring a level of nutrient is the way to get the most out of the bacteria,” adds Andy.  

Getting the best coverage  

To achieve good coverage of the foliage and any soil you need to contact, Andy recommends applying VIXERAN^® at a rate of 200 litres/ha using a medium droplet size to achieve a good, even coverage of foliage and soil.  

Syngenta trials have shown that application technique doesn’t hugely impact on effectiveness. VIXERAN^® is often applied with other crop protection products, so growers will have usually already considered how they’ll get good coverage of the foliage.

Optimising VIXERAN^® Application

Watch a practical demo showing how to get the most out of your VIXERAN^® Application:

Also Read: Sahyadri Farms: A Farmer-Led Collective Transforming Indian Agriculture

Global Agriculture is an independent international media platform covering agri-business, policy, technology, and sustainability. For editorial collaborations, thought leadership, and strategic communications, write to pr@global-agriculture.com