Wet spring brings nitrogen concerns
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Wet spring brings nitrogen concerns
Some farmers and agronomists are concerned the wet spring could lead to nitrogen shortages in the corn crop. Paul Butler farms in central Illinois.
“Yeah, that’s a concern for sure,” he says.
Drew Beckman, agronomist with Beck’s Hybrids, says the heavy precipitation will likely impact available nitrogen.
“Growers need to be ready to potentially address some loss, whether they are planning a side dress application.” He says, “Maybe that’s something we need to look at and monitor the amount of rainfall and have that conversation.”
Butler tells Brownfield he plans to closely monitor his crop.
“If prices are good this summer, I got a decent looking crop, I will go ahead and side dress some on, or we’ll Y-drop some on.” He says, “If prices are down or the crop in general’s not looking fantastic, it doesn’t look like nitrogen stress is an issue, probably won’t do it. And we’ll make that call in July.”
Beckman says nitrogen applied in the fall without an inhibitor is the most at risk, and in-season tissue sampling can help identify nitrogen deficiency in corn.
AUDIO: Drew Beckman – northwestern IL field agronomist @ Beck’s Hybrids
