Canola School: 4R considerations for fall fertility

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Fall fertility is a small part of the entire agronomy plan, but an important one.

As we begin to feel the cool nip of fall in the air, there are plenty of decisions to make when it comes to fertility plans, says Leighton Blashko of BASF.

With these fertility considerations and planning comes the 4Rs: Right rate, right source, right time, and right place.

Right Rate

“There’s been more and more spotlight on putting your fertilizer, the right amount of fertilizer in the field, or on parts of the field. So certainly the right rate to determine this is key, and that’s probably where the October timeframe comes in, would be to look at some soil testing. So I know that a lot of places a lot of people are doing that right now.” (Story continues below video)

Right Source

“There’s dry fertilizer, there’s liquid fertilizer, there’s anhydrous ammonia for nitrogen source as an example, there’s coated products. There’s a bunch of technologies that are really advancing. Even manure. Manure is a very good source of nutrients. I think considering what you want to use, what works for your equipment, and what works for the logistics of your farm.”

Right Time

“You want to look at what makes sense for your operation. A lot of producers are putting on all their fertilizer at seeding, which is a good time for some producers. But sometimes if you’ve got large volumes, the rate is quite high, and it becomes a logistical nightmare. And we know that sometimes logistics trumps everything. So broadcasting some nutrients might be an option for this time of year to take some workload or to take some volume out of your air carts in the spring.”

Right Place

“The key is each nutrient is going to be slightly different. But you want to be able to think like a plant, and be able to make sure that you’re able to think where would that plants ideal location be for that nutrient? And not only where do you want it, when do you want it? How does the plant access it?”

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Canola School (view all) Season 14 (2022) Episode 6
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