When growing corn in a strip-tilled field, many growers walk a fine line as they look to target optimum nitrogen rates to push yield while also precisely placing the nutrient within the strip to avoid crop burn.
On this episode of RealAgriculture's Corn School, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) corn specialist Ben Rosser shares what he's learning about placing nitrogen in strip till for safety and yield.
At OMAFA's Elora Research Station, Rosser is collaborating with University of Guelph associate professor Dr. John Lauzon to evaluate nitrogen placement strategies when applying 250 lbs of nitrogen as urea per acre. Rosser admits that's a big rate, but for the purpose of research it does deliver some keen agronomic and crop performance insights.
At this trial, four application strategies are being tested: shallow banding fertilizer where the shank is set at a depth of 6" and fertilizer is released at 4"; coulter mixing where fertilizer is mixed between the coulters; deep banding that sees the shank running at a depth of 7" to 8" and fertilizer released at 6"; and double banding — fertilizer is placed on each side of the strip, 3" to 4" from the row, at 1" deep.
Rosser says early inspection of the plots is already revealing winners and losers. In the video, he notes that shallow banding fertilizer shows the highest level of crop injury with leaf burn, late-emerging plants and a high degree of variability. "It's clearly not a safe placement if you are trying to push rates like we are in this plot," he says.
Deep banding and double banding nitrogen look to be the best strategies. Rosser says the best performing or "happiest" plants appear to be the double banding rows where growers band fertilizer on both edges of the strip. He says he knows a couple of Ontario growers who have built strip till machines to utilize this approach, but it's critical to avoid planter drift and ensure the seed doesn't get too close to either of the bands.
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