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Aberdeen MS | One needs to be more careful with the N rates. Mainly because it is water soluble and does not attach (not like P and K anyway) to the soil.
The best way, IMO, is to "spoon" feed the N. Some preplant, some with planter, and then side dress, that will allow one to reduce maybe 20%. At side dress is where the savings could maybe be had.
Rates for N can be cut, but not by banding, but by micro managing the needs of the crop and reducing the leaching capability of the soil/N combination.
Sampling does need to be done in respect of banding vs broadcast. Most labs, private and university, issue recs based on broadcasting nutrients and have taken into account the "tie up" based on CEC and other factors. I don't know if any will issue recs on banding.
Stripping isn't the reason for reducing rates on P & K, it's the banding. Applying starter 2 X 2 is banding nutrients. We we are doing with the strip tilling is moving the starter from the planter to the strip/zone till equipment and putting the entire shooting match down. When it's planting time... fill the boxes and haul tail.
Depending on which equipment is used the nutrients will be placed from mixed in a "trench" \_/ 8-10 wide on top 4-5 wide on the bottom and 4-5 deep, just like conventional spreading worked in with a FC, only a bit more concentrated to deep placing with say a soil warrior or Brillion type machine that will push it down around 12" give or take.
It's tough to imagine on cutting rates, I was skeptical myself 20 years ago when an independant lab came out with research results that it could be done without harm to the soil nutrient levels. The U of M has research that it can be done. One just needs to pay a bit more attention to test results and possibly go into plant tissue analysis to maintain what one started with.
Hope I didn't confuse explaining my opinion of how the process works.
Bruce | |
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Amount of Early applied N needed?
