New nitrogen tool targets in-season flexibility

March 12, 2026 | Kriss Nelson

New nitrogen management tools were among the technologies on display for farmers walking the trade show floor at the recent Commodity Classic.

Among them was Tidal Grow AgriScience, which hosted a booth at the event and spent much of the week visiting with farmers about in-season nitrogen management options.

Managing nitrogen

For Trey Cutts, Ph.D., vice president of commercial agriculture science for the company, the conversation often came back to a familiar challenge for growers: protecting nitrogen investments while maintaining flexibility throughout the season.

“When we look at it, it’s really about being an optimal nitrogen management tool that gives farmers optionality in season,” Cutts says. “As they look at their whole nitrogen budget, how do they manage that?”

Applying all nitrogen up front may be the easiest approach, he notes, but it also carries risk.
“Doing it all up front is often the easiest,” Cutts says. “But you can lose some of your investment pretty easily.”

In-season nitrogen

That concern has prompted more discussion around ways to adjust nitrogen applications later in the growing season. Cutts says the company’s product, alignN®, is designed to help provide that flexibility.

The product uses encapsulated urea nitrogen precisely formulated to deliver nutrients directly onto and into the leaf, allowing plants to absorb nitrogen during the growing season rather than relying solely on soil-applied fertilizer.

“It’s meant for maximum leaf intake, which allows it to be used as a foliar nitrogen or even as a sidedress-style nitrogen application,” Cutts says. “It’s a very easy way to manage in-season nitrogen.”

Because the product is compatible with many herbicides, fungicides and other inputs, Cutts says it can be applied during existing crop protection passes.

“It gives farmers a way to top up nitrogen in season,” he says. “You can go in with your fungicide or herbicide tank mix and manage nitrogen at the same time.”

Cutts says the concept builds on a long history of foliar nitrogen products but aims to improve how efficiently plants absorb the nutrient.

“Most foliar nitrogen products are based on technology that’s been around for decades,” he says. “They do a good job protecting nitrogen from loss, but loss but not necessarily improving leaf penetration and uptake.”

The formulation used in alignN focuses on improving how nitrogen moves through the leaf surface so plants can absorb it more effectively and reduce the potential for losses through leaching or runoff.

For Cutts, the broader message at Commodity Classic was less about a single product and more about helping farmers think differently about nitrogen management during a year when every input decision matters.

“In times of lower margins and high input costs, farmers are really looking at how they can protect their investment and manage nutrients more efficiently,” he says. “Giving them options during the season can help them do that.”

Written by Kriss Nelson.

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