LANCASTER A growing
number of communities have been
experiencing excessive levels of
nitrates in their wells and other
drinking water sources Much of
this is attribulid to run off of ex
cessive amounts of applied fer
tilizer from the planting season
In response to this problem,
Dave Maxfield, Technical Services
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Cut nitrate runoff - apply nutrients properly *
Director for Hi-Store Plant Food
Company, Lancaster. PA ,
manufacturer of Hi-Score liquid
fertilizer, says that ‘fertilizer
residues in water supplies are
unnecessary”.
He says too many farmers
believe that the} must broadcast
high levels of nitrogen on their soil
in order to grow high-} iclding
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corn Many times the farmer does
this only because he always has in
the past, or because nitrogen
prices are low right now, without
looking at two very important
points
• The overall balance of all plant
nutrients in the soil, such as lime,
potash, or trace elements Soil
testing should always he the fust
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step to growing corn.
• Proper placement and form ot
fertilizer plant nutrients used at
planting time
When these two points are given
proper attention, the farmer will
find that he can grow high-} leldmg
corn with less total fertilizer ap
plied, particular!} nitrogen In
addition, applying nitrogen in
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 19,1985-A33
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excess ot requirements can create
deficiencies of other nutrients in
the corn stalk which can actually
depress yields.
Excess nitrogen fertilization can
also decrease yields by producing
a watery, weakened stalk,
susceptable to lodging, disease,
and fungus infections When the
time comes to producing ears at
tassehng time, the plants do not
have enough vigor and energy to
combat insects and disease and
still fill out the ears to their full
genetic potential.
According to a special report by
The Fertilizer Institute in June,
1984. Fertilizer recovery by crops
is far from complete Typically, 50-
70 percent of the applied nitrogen,
7 to 15 percent of applied
phosphate, and 30-50 percent of
applied potash are recovered by
the crop” The report continues
Nitrogen is lost mainly through
runoff and leaching. Phosphate
i and potash), however, attaches to
soil particles and is carried away
when erosion occurs"
With the need to reduce planting
costs because of low farm com
modity prices, Maxfield has seen
high yielding fields throughout the
east, midwest, and south this
summer where farmers following
the Hi-Score program are using far
less than conventional levels of
fertilizer to grow corn
economically, by using a highly
available, balanced, liquid row
fertilizer placed in the seed row
and also beneath the seed
The emphasis is on
• Correct placement of plant
food,
• Development of a deeper root
system that can draw nutrients
from a larger soil surface \olume,
and
• Promoting conditions to in
c i ease bacterial activity in the soil
so that nitrogen, phosphate, and
potash ah eady in the soil and plant
residues can be made available to
the growing plants, thereby
reducing the need for additional
applied fertilizer
Greater nitrogen efficiency is
obtained by knifing in 40-60 lbs.
nitrogen at planting time, plus
sidedressing with 40-50 lbs.
nitrogen knifed in when the corn is
15-18” height, than by broad
casting 120-180 lbs. nitrogen on top
of the ground at planting time This
reduces weed pressure, con
sequently reducing the cost for
herbicides, reduces nitrogen run
off into rivers and streams, and
reduces nitrogen losses to the
atmosphere
To illustrate and to put nitrogen
into perspective, Maxfield says
that a soil with 3% organic matter
only in the upper 7 inches contains
about 3,000 lbs nitrogen/Acre
Normally only 2-4% of this
nitrogen becomes available during
a growing season, so we have 60-
120 lbs nitrogen available for the
c rop If we can create conditions so
that just 5-6% of this nitrogen can
become available by stimulating
and promoting bacterial activity,
then it is conceivable to expect a
release of 150-180 lbs nitrogen,
thereby greatly reducing the
required amount of additional
applied nitrogen The same
principles apply to potash and
phosphate fertilization
This summer Maxfield has seen
140 bushels corn grown with 45 lbs
additional applied nitrogen, and
with 160 lbs additional applied
mti ogen, planted side by side with
no significant difference in yield on
sandy loam soil He has seen 160
bushels corn on ground on which no
additional potash has been applied
for the past seven years' These
practices cannot help but sav e the
farmer money compared to con
\entional practices, and also help
to conserve and keep our drinking
water clean