What the research measured
The ten-state land-grant review reported no yield benefit from in-furrow Envita in 11 of 12 corn trials; the exception was Missouri 2020, about 6 bu/ac, equivalent to a 12 lb N/ac fertilizer rate. Foliar Envita did not change yield in North Dakota corn, spring wheat or canola. In a 2020 Nebraska on-farm trial, Envita as a seed treatment yielded 6–7 bu/ac less than the same N rate without it at 100, 150 and 200 lb N/ac. North Dakota’s four 2022 sites found no yield gain at 0 or 80 lb N/ac.
Independent replicated trials 2020–2022: a ten-state review (12 in-furrow and several foliar Envita trials across ND, IL, MN, MO, IN and MI), NDSU’s four-site 2022 N-rate study, one Nebraska on-farm seed-treatment trial, and a UW–Madison extension review of the same programs. No US peer-reviewed field study and no independent soybean or potato data were found.4 independent sources.What it is. A liquid inoculant of the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus, labeled in-furrow at 0.8–1 oz/ac in at least 2.5 gal/ac of water or foliar at 0.5–2.5 oz/ac in early vegetative stages, for corn, soybeans, cereals, alfalfa and potatoes. The company’s stated claims, as quoted by university reviewers, are a 6+ bu/ac average corn increase, or replacing 27% of a corn plant’s nitrogen need, or a 5–13% yield increase with a full N program.
Study conditions and limitations
- Application differed across trials: in-furrow at planting, foliar at V2–V3 or later, and a seed treatment in Nebraska; the Michigan State trial used 3.2 oz/ac in-furrow, above the 0.8–1 oz/ac label rate the Wisconsin review lists.
- The one positive site-year was tied to a rate and a season: Missouri’s gain appeared at 100 lb N/ac in 2020 and did not repeat in 2021 or 2022 at the same site.
- Nebraska 2020 priced Envita at $5/ac; at 100, 150 and 200 lb N/ac the treated strips returned about $26–31/ac less than the same N rate alone ($754.80 vs $786.23, $763.98 vs $792.53, $752.63 vs $778.51).
- In Minnesota’s 2022 on-farm strips, the mean across three N rates was 191 bu/ac without and 182 bu/ac with Envita; the authors reported no yield benefit.
- Handling: mix only what will be used within a day, use non-chlorinated water, add Envita last, do not freeze, and keep it out of direct sunlight and unopened until use.
- The UW–Madison review lists Envita as OMRI approved; this profile did not check the OMRI product list directly.
Read the sources · 4
- Performance of Selected Commercially Available Asymbiotic N-fixing Products in the North Central Region ↗
Twelve in-furrow Envita corn trials across the region through 2022: no yield benefit in eleven; the exception was Missouri 2020, about 6 bu/ac, equivalent to a 12 lb N/ac fertilizer rate. Foliar Envita at Minot gave no yield improvement in corn (123 vs 125 bu/ac), spring wheat (60.6–61.8 vs 60.2 bu/ac) or canola (2,005–2,176 vs 2,058 lb/ac).
- Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria for Corn: Testing Two Commercial Products ↗
Four 2022 North Dakota sites (Carrington, Oakes, Absaraka, Prosper) with in-furrow Envita at 0 and 80 lb N/ac (0 and 17 lb at Oakes after a rate error): corn yield rose with N at every site, but Envita did not raise yield at either N level at any location.
- Impact of Envita at Three N Rates on Corn Yield ↗
Irrigated no-till corn, four replications, Envita as a seed treatment with anhydrous at 100, 150 and 200 lb N/ac: yields were 228 vs 235, 236 vs 243 and 239 vs 245 bu/ac with vs without Envita, lower at every rate (P<0.0001), and marginal net return was lower at every rate with Envita costed at $5/ac.
- A review of common nitrogen biological products for corn ↗
Sets label rates (0.8–1 oz/ac in-furrow; 0.5–2.5 oz/ac foliar) and company claims (6+ bu/ac corn, 3.9+ bu/ac soybean, 39 cwt/ac potato) beside 2019–2022 university results: no response at NDSU, Michigan State, Minnesota, Illinois and Purdue, and a response only in Missouri’s 2020 season (6 bu/ac, the equivalent of a 12 lb N/ac rate).
Before you buy, ask
- Is the formulation and application method I would buy the one that was tested?
- Was the comparison a yield gain at the same nitrogen rate, or held yield with less fertilizer?
- What happens to my result if I cut nitrogen and the product does not fix enough?
Record
- Sources checked
- October 12, 2026. Every figure shown is printed on the linked page; unit conversions are noted on the chart.
- Company response
- None yet. Azotic North America can send corrections, additional trials, or a statement; it is published here, labelled, and never edits the research summary. Send a correction →