AUSTRALIAN DATA.

Equivalent yield to urea in irrigated winter wheat.

Measured. Replicated. Documented.

Winter wheat field trial (2025) comparing Plasma Strike and urea under irrigation.

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Equivalent yield to urea

No meaningful difference across replicated irrigation bays.

Faster nitrate response

Earlier increase in leaf nitrate-N post application.

Commercial irrigation system

Starter N and background irrigation nitrogen present.

In-season performance

Not a zero-input or full replacement claim.

grain_yield_by_treatment_brand_colours_swapped_HIRES

No meaningful yield difference was observed between Plasma Strike and commercial urea treatments across replicated irrigation bays. Untreated plots yielded substantially lower.

What was tested

  • Commercial irrigated winter wheat system
  • 2025 growing season
  • Individual irrigation bays treated as experimental units
  • Plasma Strike applications timed exactly with commercial urea passes

Baseline:

  • Starter nitrogen applied at planting
  • Two irrigation events during the season
  • Irrigation water contained background nitrogen

This trial evaluates in-season nitrogen performance, not zero-input systems.

Measurements

  • Leaf tissue testing
    • Nitrate-N (indicator of plant nitrogen status)
    • Ammonia-N (indicator of nitrogen uptake and assimilation pathways)
  • Sampling conducted twice weekly throughout the season
  • Biomass observations
  • Final grain yield mapping at harvest

Dataset includes 70 tissue samples collected across replicated bays during the 2025 season.


Yield

  • All fertilised treatments produced significantly higher grain yield than the untreated baseline

  • No meaningful yield difference was observed between:
    • Commercial urea treatments, and
    • Plasma Strike treatments at comparable application timings
  • Yield equivalence was observed across replicated irrigation bays.
Screenshot 2026-02-06 160629-1
Example leaf tissue analysis (nitrate-N, ammonia-N). Multiple samples collected across season.
yeild map
Representative yield map from replicated irrigation bay (t/ha).

Interpretation:
Under these conditions, Plasma Strike delivered equivalent yield outcomes to commercial urea programs.

Nitrogen-N response (leaf tissue)

  • Plasma Strike treatments showed a more rapid increase in leaf nitrate-N following application
  • Urea treatments showed higher nitrate-N levels later in the cycle (approximately 3–4 weeks post-application)
  • Distinct nitrate-N spikes aligned with irrigation events, consistent with background nitrogen in irrigation water

Interpretation:
Plasma Strike resulted in a faster plant nitrate response, while urea followed a delayed availability pattern consistent with urea conversion dynamics.

Ammonia-N response (leaf tissue)

  • No meaningful differences in leaf ammonia-N were observed between treatments

Interpretation:
Nitrogen uptake dynamics were comparable across fertilised treatments.

Biomass

  • Biomass and tiller density were comparable across all fertilised treatments
  • Untreated plots showed reduced tillering and overall leaf mass

Interpretation:
Observed yield differences align with nitrogen treatment effects rather than biomass anomalies.

Nitrate-N chart

What these results support

  • Plasma Strike achieved equivalent yield outcomes to commercial urea in this irrigated winter wheat system
  • Plasma Strike produced a faster in-season nitrate response following application

Scope of these results

These results demonstrate equivalent yield performance between Plasma Strike and commercial urea within the system tested.

They do not attempt to demonstrate:

  • Full nitrogen replacement
  • Performance independent of background soil or irrigation nitrogen
  • Applicability across all crops, seasons, or management systems

This trial is intentionally scoped to in-season nitrogen performance in an irrigated winter wheat system.

Who this is for

  • Irrigated cereal growers
  • Operations already making multiple in-season spray passes
  • Growers evaluating partial substitution of synthetic nitrogen
  • Decision-makers who require field data before change
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Discuss fit for your nitrogen program

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