Biological products are becoming a larger part of the crop nutrition conversation as companies look for new ways to help crops access nutrients throughout the growing season. UPL is putting more emphasis on that space as it expands beyond the post-patent crop protection products the company has traditionally been known for.
At the 2026 Farm Progress Show, Jeff Ellis with UPL said the company is looking to add more proprietary products to its portfolio, with biologicals representing an important part of that effort.
UPL is backing that effort with small plot research and on-farm testing to evaluate how its biological products perform under real-world growing conditions. Ellis said the goal is to demonstrate not only potential improvements in crop performance and quality, but also a return on investment for growers.
One area of focus is biological nitrogen. NiCor is a seed-applied biological designed to colonize the root system and fix nitrogen from the air, providing another source of nitrogen for the plant throughout the growing season.
Ellis said that it can complement a grower’s synthetic nitrogen program, particularly later in the season as the crop’s nitrogen demand continues while the availability of applied nitrogen can decline.
Ellis said the biological uses root exudates from the plant as a food source while fixing atmospheric nitrogen and making nitrogen available to the crop. The idea is to provide an additional source throughout the season rather than replace the synthetic nitrogen growers already apply.
UPL is also combining that nitrogen technology with biological nematode protection. NitroCor includes the NiCor technology along with a two-strain biological nematicide designed to help manage eggs and juveniles of certain difficult-to-control nematodes.
Those products are also part of a broader biological system UPL is developing across the growing season. Ellis said growers can begin with NiCor or NitroCor at planting and follow later with products such as Nuvita around the V5 growth stage. UPL also has Vasiplan, a biological fungicide positioned around VT timing.
Ellis described the approach as building a biological portfolio that can carry growers from seed through harvest, with crop nutrition and protection products targeted at different stages of crop development.
And UPL expects that portfolio to continue expanding.
Ellis said the company expects additional products using similar biological nitrogen technology to come to the market over the next two to three years.
For growers, the expanding portfolio reflects a broader effort to integrate biological products with established crop nutrition and crop protection programs. Rather than replacing traditional fertility practices, UPL sees biologicals as another tool for supporting nutrient availability, protecting yield potential, and helping crops through critical stages of the growing season.
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