How does nitrogen leaf burn impact yield? What about leaf wetness at application? Will wet leaves mitigate the potential for damage from a nitrogen application?
Those are just some of the questions University of Guelph researcher Josh Nasielski and RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin tackle on this episode of the RealAgriculture Corn School.
Tobin caught up with Nasielski following his presentation at the Southwest Agricultural Conference at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown campus, where the researcher shared nitrogen knowledge nuggets growers can us to increase nitrogen efficiency.
What about that leaf burn yield question? Nasielski says when it comes to topdressing nitrogen there’s a much lower potential for a yield hit when growers apply earlier in the season. That’s because if growers are top dressing later, they’re going to be burning those leaves in the upper canopy that during grain fill should be intercepting sunlight. If those upper leaves are burned, grain fill will be compromised and yield loses will be higher .
When it comes to leaf wetness at application, Nasielski says some growers feel that an early morning dew may reduce the risk of burn. A Brazilian trial, however, disproved that theory after wet leaves were top dressed with urea at V5 and V10 and no real difference in leaf burn or yield hit was observed.
Watch the video for more nitrogen knowledge nuggets.
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