Potassium deficiency can cost soybean growers as much as five to seven bushels per acre if the levels of the key nutrient sink below critical values.
If farm fields show a deficit, how much potash should be broadcast to maintain yield? Is that rate safe for the plant and economical for the grower? Those are questions Horst Bohner, Ontario’s soybean specialist, tackles on this episode of the RealAgriculture Soybean School.
This season, Bohner is running research trials at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness’s Elora Research Station. When selecting potassium rates to drive yield, he says growers have to think both safety and economics. He notes that a cheap form of potassium, a product like muriate of potash (0-0-60) contains high amounts of chloride — for each 100 pounds of 0-0-60 growers apply, they’re putting down about 40 pounds of chloride.
In his test plots, Bohner is comparing rates ranging from zero to 400 pounds of potash per acre. As he notes in the video, he’s observed no signs of potash injury in any of the plots. He’ll know more about the potential impact on yield at harvest.
Bohner adds there are other product choices: potassium sulphate (0-0-50-17) includes a little sulphur, which could be a good fit for fields that are also sulphur deficient. But overall, when it comes to safe rates for potash, most Ontario farmers have no need to worry. “Only in very dry conditions, with sandy soils, do we have to think about the rate,” he says.
Check out the video for Bohner’s recommendations on choosing a rate that is both safe and economical.
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