Page 10 • Dairy Star - Third Section • Saturday, October 13, 2012
Guidelines for applying nitrogen in a dry fall BY DAVID NICOLAI AND JOHN LAMB U of M Extension Educators
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As the corn and soybean harvest season begins to wrap-up in Minnesota, many producers' plans are turning next to the 2013 crop. One area of discussion which will be evaluated is the application of nitrogen for the 2013 corn crop. Soil temperatures are still averaging above 60 degrees as of Oct 1 but will trend downward in October with the arrival of cooler air temperatures later in October. The University of Minnesota Lamberton Outreach Center’s website at http://swroc.cfans.umn.edu/ WeatherInformation/index.htm lists daily soil temperatures at three depths in the soil. In addition, the Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture’s website at https:// www.mda.state.mn.us/en/protecting/soilprotection/ soiltemp.aspx contains an interactive map which lists the six inch soil temperature at varying locations across Minnesota. This is good information to help producers make nitrogen application decisions as listed below. Dr. John Lamb, University of Minnesota Extension Soils Specialist, provides the following guidelines for nitrogen applications in central and western Minnesota: Nitrogen is a mobile nutrient and therefore must be managed differently to get the most nutrient value and the least amount of loss to the environment. In the south central part of Minnesota, application of fall N is not always the most efcient management option. If your operation requires you to apply some N in the fall, there are some things you can do to get the most N out of the fertilizer application. First, do not apply nitrogen fertilizer before the soil temperature at the six inch depth is consistently below 50 degrees. Second, use only an ammonium form of nitrogen. Anhydrous ammonia would be the preferred, followed by urea. If you have a eld that is consistently wet, you may want to consider the use of a nitrication inhibitor to slow the conversion of ammonium to nitrate. The use of the inhibitor is not a way to allow for application before the soil temperatures are below 50 degrees. If you farm sandy ground, N applied in the fall will not be in the soil when spring arrives. Fall N application on sandy soil, irrigated or not, is a total waste of time and money and presents large risks of groundwater pollution. In the southwest, west central, and northwestern parts of Minnesota, fall applications of ammonia based N sources is OK if the soil temperature is less than 50 degrees. At the time of writing this, Minnesota agricultural areas were experiencing drought at one degree or another. The ground is hard - maybe harder than last year. With this in mind, a late fall application of N after we receive some rain may be the best fall option. It will reduce the chances of loss by getting a better soil cover of the ammonia band and also save on the wear and tear of the tillage and application equipment. If you use urea, it must be incorporated to keep it from volatilizing. Dry soils are good candidates for urea volatilization to occur. Research with fall N applications has shown that anhydrous ammonia will have a lower loss of nitrogen than urea. Also with the dry summer, it is strongly suggested that you take a soil nitrate - N test. This is particularly true if the 2012 crop was corn. With the dry summer, the crop may not have used all of the N fertilizer applied for the previous crop and left a large amount of residual nitrate-N that could be used by the 2013 crop. To be useful, a soil sample for nitrate should be taken to a depth of two feet for corn and four feet for sugar beets. The sample should be taken after the soil temperature is below 50 degrees. A soil sample taken before the soil temperatures are below 50 degrees is a waste of money and time. The nitrate-N soil test value will be erroneous. If the weather conditions continue dry into winter, one should strongly consider spring application. Spring applications result in less chance of N loss and you will also have a better idea of the crop potential in 2013. A spring preplant soil nitrate-N test will also be helpful, similar to the fall soil test described earlier in this article.