How a Polish Farmer Cut Plant Growth Regulator Use by 48% with Variable Rate Application

The field in this case is typical for western Poland. Soil quality varies considerably across short distances, creating areas with different yield potential and different responses to crop protection products.

Using OneSoil productivity maps, Mikołaj identified stable patterns that had repeated over multiple growing seasons. Some parts of the field consistently performed well, while others regularly struggled due to lighter soils and lower water availability.

Unlike a single satellite image, productivity maps show long-term field potential by analyzing crop development over several years. This makes them a practical tool for making management decisions, especially in seasons when weather conditions are far from average.

The treatment involved the plant growth regulator Moddus in wheat.
Instead of applying the same rate everywhere, the field was divided into three productivity zones.

• The highest-performing areas received the full rate of 0.3 L/ha.
• Medium-productivity zones received a reduced rate.
• The weakest parts of the field received no regulator at all.

The decision was driven by agronomy rather than product savings alone.

In a dry year, plants growing in low-productivity zones already face greater stress from limited water availability. Applying a growth regulator in these areas may bring little benefit while adding another stress factor.

Once the application map was created in OneSoil, it was sent directly to the farm's BBLeap-equipped sprayer.

The integration allowed the prescription map to be transferred wirelessly, without USB drives or manual file handling. Application rates were automatically adjusted according to the productivity zone, while the sprayer maintained accurate coverage across the field.

For variable-rate application to deliver results, the agronomic recommendation and the execution in the field need to work together. In this case, productivity maps helped determine where the product was needed, while BBLeap technology ensured those decisions were implemented accurately.

The variable-rate approach reduced plant growth regulator use by 48%.
With product costs around 37 PLN per hectare, this translated into savings of approximately 17 PLN per hectare.

Across the treated area, the operation generated more than 4,000 PLN in direct savings.

Just as importantly, the weakest zones of the field were not exposed to an unnecessary treatment during a season already defined by water stress.

A control strip was added to the prescription map to evaluate the impact of the treatment after harvest.

Once yield data is uploaded, OneSoil automatically calculates performance within the treated and untreated areas, making it easier to assess the economic return of the decision.

This case is not about applying less product everywhere. It is about matching input rates to the conditions within each field.

Fields are rarely uniform. Some areas consistently produce more, while others face limitations that cannot be solved by adding more inputs.

Productivity maps help identify these differences before entering the field. When application rates are adjusted accordingly, farmers can reduce unnecessary input use, lower costs, and focus investments where they are most likely to deliver a return.

For Mikołaj Kuś, that approach reduced plant growth regulator use by nearly half while maintaining the agronomic purpose of the treatment.