We’re back with another episode of The Agronomists, and as always, we’re excited to be here.
Today’s show — hosted by Lyndsey Smith — features Greg Stewart of Maizex Seeds and Elizabeth Karpinchick of Tone Ag. The trio discusses in-crop N applications in the corn crop (and more).
The Agronomists is brought to you by ADAMA Canada, the Pest & Predators podcast, and RealAg Radio. Click here to view all the previous episodes.
SUMMARY
- Soil nitrate testing is important
- The number for broadcasting N is different than what you will put down with the planter. Keep that in mind
- What is the earliest that that top up starts, and how late would you recommend someone still top up some N on the corn crop
CLIP 1: Corn School: Cool weather calls for more sidedness nitrogen
- In Ontario we don’t pull samples in the fall
- Why would we be seeing relatively high soil nitrate tests in Ontario?
- April and May wasn’t all that warm in southern Ontario, but it wasn’t necessarily all that wet, either
- We are using the soil nitrate test to gauge where we are at. It works to give us a * guide *
- For those acres that have a history of manure, or have a good red closer stand, there are some really high nitrate tests coming off. Do we trust this enough to pull back our nitrogen?
- If you’ve got really high nitrates, you’ve got to trust those and pull back. There’s enough research to support this
- High organic matter soils is where you often see high N tests
- If you’re going to sidedress, it’s not worth it for 10 pounds
- If we’re soil testing, we’re doing it for a reason….we have to somewhat trust the process. Not blindly, but still
- Consider plant factors — yield expectation, plant tissue N status, NDVI
- Weather factors — rainfall, temperature, crop heat units
- Cropping system factors — previous crop, tillage systems, manure additions
- Soil temperatures — soil texture, soil organic matter, soil N status
- Nitrogen factors — price of corn/nitrogen, source of nitrogen, application method/timing
CLIP 2: How do you apply N, let me count the ways?
- Is this the perfect year for split applications trials in Manitoba? Depends where you are — there’s a lot of different soil types
- Sometimes we get so excited about the concept of splitting N applications…it doesn’t always pencil out
- This year is really the year of nitrogen
- We’re seeding in June — should we be cutting down on fertilizer prices?
- Tissue tests for N top ups? Do you use them? Could be used, but a soil nitrate test gives you more information
- There’s a window for adding N, but then the crop gets so big, we simply don’t have the toils
- How late can we go in and it still be effective?
- You can actually put it on right up to tasseling
- How late can you put manure on corn? There’s a lot of rules in different places — so you have to pay attention to those
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