LANCASTER A new weed-n
-feed system for corn, after hun
dreds of commercial trials
covering 30,000 acres last year, is
expanding to more acres and new
research horizons in 1984.
The system, called AH-1 for
anhydrous and herbicide in one
pass, involves mixing a herbicide
with anhydrous ammonia, then
injecting the mixture into the soil.
The technique saves trips over
fields by combining fertilizer and
herbicide applications, and
eliminating the need to incorporate
the PPI herbicides used. It also
cuts out the hauling and mixing of
water for spraying herbicides, and
uses the lowest-cost form of
nitrogen available.
The volatility of the
anhydrous/herbicide mixture
spreads it through the soil,
resulting in uniform and weed
control and nitrogen distribution,
according to Stauffer Chemical
Company, which is developing the
system. Sptan+, Eradicane and
Eradicane Extra herbicides are
used for AH-1 because they have
the volatility and soil mobility
required.
Acreage increase
Dave Martin, Stauffer’s director
of marketing, says he expects a
tenfold increase in acreage put out
with the system this spring. “In
addition, researchers will be ex
ploring new uses for the concept
and possible agronomic benefits
from it,” he said.
Farmers who tried AH-1 last
year used modified light tillage
s
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Data based on published information
available as of July 1983
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Weed and feed expansion
implements—field cultivators,
finishing disks and combination
lools--for the application
Cultivator shanks were simply
plumbed to inject the materials
into the soil, while disks were fitted
with tine application kits to handle
the injection.
Combination tools-those that
have a row of disks followed by a
cultivator section and then a
harrow-gave the best results,
according to Martin. Field
cultivators were close behind,
generally, giving weed control
equal to conventional PPI treat
ments.
Disks performed well in some
trials but were less consistent than
the other tools in marginal ap
plication conditions.
Setting up one of these tools for
AH-1 isn’t difficult and will
generally cost $l,OOO to $2,000,
Martin says. A Stauffer rebate
program on AH-1 applications can
substantially lower this cost, he
adds.
According to Stauffer’s Chuck
Jongeward, a farmer will need five
basic pieces of equipment to
convert a tillage tool for AH-1
They are: 1.) an anhydrous am
monia meter, 2.) a herbicide
pump, 3.) a herbicide holding tank,
4.) one or two manifolds, and 5.)
drop tubes.
When the equipment is working,
anhydrous flows from the tank to
the meter, which is usually at
tached near the rear of the tillage
tool. Herbicide is pulled out of the
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holding tank and pumped into the
flowing anhydrous between the
meter and the manifold The
manifold then distributes the
mixture to individual drop tubes
tor injection into the ground.
Injection points should be spaced
no more than 10 inches apart, and
should release the mixture 4 to 5
inches deep in the soil.
Jongeward says the most crucial
elements of the system are the
herbicide pump and the shank-and
outlet combination that places the
mixture in the soil.
“Farmers should use Stauffer
recommended pumps, which are
made by Decah Manufacturing,
F.M.1., John Blue Company, and
WALM, Inc.,” he said.
The hardware that injects the
anhydrous and herbicide into the
soil must seal the mixture at a
depth of 4 to 5 inches. Simple field
cultivator anhydrous spikes
worked well on some rigs, ac
cording to Jongeward.
With standard field cultivator
sweeps, special shovels, or field
cultivator spikes, outlets that shoot
the anhydrous and herbicide out to
the sides, instead of straight back
behind the cultivator shank,
tended to seal best, Jongeward
adds.
"Generally, sealing wasn't a big
problem for most farmers,” he
says.
New Uses, Benefits
Farmers and researchers this
year will be fine-tuning the one
pass, reduced tillage AH-1 system
used in 1983. They’ll be looking at
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seen this year
new hardware and various soil and
crop residue conditions.
Meanwhile, ' Stauffer and
university researchers will be
exploring possible new uses and
benefits of the basic concept.
One agronomic benefit that may
come into play is possible corn
yield increases from a nitrogen
stabilizing effect of the herbicides
injected with anhydrous.
"We know that some compounds
in the thiocarbamate family inhibit
the conversion of nitrogen from the
ammonia form to the nitrite and
then the nitrate forms,” says John
Saylor, Stauffer’s manager of
product development.
Saylor says 1984 trials are
designed to measure any nitrogen
stabilization effects or resultant
yield increases from Sutan+,
Eradicane or Eradicane Extra
applied along with anhydrous
ammonia.
Early applications of AH-1 are
another area of study. Some ap
plications were made in the fall of
1983, and more will go out in the
early spring. These will be com
pared with weed control results
from treatments applied just
before planting.
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 7,1984—D15
Research at Purdue University
will focus on experimental
anhydrous/herbicide injection
equipment that leaves nearly all
surface residues undisturbed on
top of the soil
Agronomists Don Huber and
Merrill Ross put out trials last year
using modified sweeps and
anhydrous knives, trying to
achieve a virtual no-till injection of
the PPI herbicides.
One knife in particular-a thin
anhydrous knife with a 12-mch
horizontal wing that runs 4 inches
under the ground--gave out
standing results.
“This knife gave us weed control
bands 20 to 22 inches wide,” Huber
says.
With a no-till coulter slicing
through trash in front of it, the
knife operated in heavy surface
residues without plowing the
surface or plugging up. “All you
see after the application is a thin
knife track in the surface residue,”
Huber says
Huber and Ross will use the
winged knives to experiment with
different spacings and placements
of corn rows this year.
No-till PPI?
v •*-