Dl4—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 26,1984
DE KALB, H. Sidedressing
fertilizer refers to the application of
fertilizer to row crops after the plants
are established. The fertilizer is
placed between the rows in a fashion
that minimizes destruction of plant
roots. Sidedress application can offer
advantages to the grower, including
delayed application, deeper
placement, and increased efficiency.
With modern application methods
almost any of the common fertilizer
materials can be used. The fertilizer
materials applied by sidedressing
have traditionally involved liquid
manures, ammonia gas, and con
centrated liquid fertilizers. Dry
granules have been applied ex
perimentally with a forced air carrier
system. However, this practice has
not yet reached common usage.
The most typical element applied
has been nitrogen. This is probably
due to its high mobility in the soil,
allowing it to move from the row
centers to the plant roots. Sidedress is
definitely passible for the other
fertilizer elements also.
The fertilizer material chosen for
sidedressing determines depth of
placement. Deeper placement
requires more power and essentially
becomes a tillage Iteration subject to
soil type and moisture guidelines.
Sidedressing fertilizer offers benefits
For example, ammonia gas should
be placed 5 to 10 inches deep. For best
results, soils should be loose and dry
enough to seal quickly trapping the
gas after application. Heavy, poor
structure soils may not only lose
ammonia gas, but may also crack
open and allow severe moisture loss.
Inter-row tillage provided by
sidedressing has also resulted in the
fracturing of compacted soil layers,
aiding in both water and root
penetration for certain soils.
liquid fertilizers can be dribbled
onto the soil surface or knifed into the
soil. Most common liquid nitrogen
solutions and liquid manures contain
both ammonia and urea. Leaving
these materials cm soil surfaces,
especially if soils are alkaline, can
result in severe N loss due to
volatilization.
Some efficiency minded growers
are applying liquid solutions with
their row cultivators. Pumping liquid
behind the outside cultivator shovels
eliminates a special sidedress trip
and results in placement 2 or 3 inches
deep and 5 to 7 indies from the row.
This is ideal placement of the less
mobile mineral elements such as
phosphorus.
Placement of fertilizer to a depth
greater than 3 inches can be a real
advantage should the surface soil
become dry, since fertilizer uptake
requires soil moisture. Fanners
using minimum tillage methods may
find deeper placement valuable as a
way of avoiding surface ac
cumulation of nutrients.
Sidedressing delays part of the
fertilizer application. This allows a
grower to delay expenditures and
save on operating interest as well as
balance his fertilizer application with
actual plant stand and moisture
EPHRATA Penn Ag Industries
Association, Ephrata, will be holding
its annual grain meeting at the
Sheraton-Conestoga in Lancaster on
June 25. Featured speaker will be
Merrill Phillips, Manager of
Ingredient Purchasing for the Central
Soya Company, Inc. Fort Wayne, Ind.
He will discuss “Assessing Your
Buying Abilities.”
Phillips holds a B.S. degree from
the University of South Florida. He is
responsible for the purchase of all
major and micro feed ingredients for
over 30 manufacturing facilities
nationwide; and handles risk
management of cash feed ingredient
Poultry Producers:
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conditions. In wet springs the
elimination of a pre-plant fertilizer
trip can result in earlier planting
when the weather dears. Delayed
application also avoids driving cm wet
soils which may cause wheel track
compaction and uneven seed
emergence.
Delaying fertilizer application is
unwise, however, if early plant
growth suffers. Thus sidedressing
works well for managers using
starter fertilizer or applying part of
their fertilizer in *he fall 'The later
Grain meeting on June 25
positions, commodity futures, and The banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m.
market-related activities for the P® r P 61 " 800 18 $15.00. Anyone
domestic feed division interested should contact Penn Ag at
(717)-733-2238.
UNIVERSITY PARK - On June
5-6, there will be a Commercial
Hydroponics Conference at Penn
State’s Keller Conference Center
at University Park. The con
ference is sponsored by The
Department of Horticulture and
the Cooperative Extension Ser
vice.
Topics to be covered at this
meeting include; Insects, Diseases
and Nutrition of Hydroponic
-i Call Toll Free; (800) 332-6717
Or: (717) 374-0501
/K&L\ Contact: John Appel, Nutritionist
li!l£S£J Jim Skinner, General Manager
Hydroponics conference set
application increases uptake ef
ficiency. Material has less time to
“tie-up” before actual plant uptake
occurs. Farmers can also eliminate
extra nutrient application to com
pensate for losses from leaching and
denitrification.
The advantages of sidedressing, m
most cases, outweigh the disad
vantages. Soil and moisture con
ditions, actual nutrient needs, and
application flexibility will determine
how it will fit individual situations.
Vegetables, Types of Hydroponic
Systems, Market Development,
and Crop Production. The
registration fee is $35.00, before
May 31. After May 31 the fee is
$40.00 per participant.
If you are interested in receiving
a registration form for the Con
ference, contact the Penn State
Extension Service in York County.
Phone-757-9657.
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