ce-Lmcastar Farming, Saturday, November 8,1986
NEWARK, Del. Proper fer
tilization of small grain crops
starts with a recent soil test to
assess the nutrients available to
the plants. The test will indicate
pH first. This is a very important
factor for small grains, because if
the pH is too high, a manganese
deficiency very likely will occur.
“For silt loams, the pH for small
grains can range between 5.5 and
6.4,” says University of Delaware
extension agronomist Dr. Richard
W. Taylor. “Within this range, let
experience be your guide.” For
intensive cereal management
(ICM), he recommends a soil pH
between 6.0 and 6.4. For sandy
loam and loamy sandy soils, it can
range between 5.5 and 6.2. While
for ICM wheat, it should be bet
ween 5.8 and 6.2.
If the soil test recommendation
‘Teacher Of The Year’ Nominees Sought
Nominations are being accepted
for the national “Conservation
Teacher of the Year” awards
program according to Ernest
Tamer, district manager for the
Franklin County Conservation
District. The competition is open to
all full-time teachers working at
the kindergarten through high
school level who have developed an
outstanding program of con
servation education.
The National Conservation
Teacher of the Year will receive
$lOOO in cash and an expense paid
trip to Little Rock, Arkansas for
the 1988 Annual Convention of the
National Association of Con
servation Districts. The national
second place winner will receive a
$5OO cash award and the first place
regional winner will receive $2OO.
Co-sponsored by NACD and the
Deutz-Allis Corporation, the
purpose of the awards program is
to encourage the development of
creative learning experiences in
conservation for young people.
“Any teacher in a public or private
school in our conservation district
who puts emphasis on con
servation as a regular part of the
instructional program is eligible
for nomination,” said Tamer.
Interested teachers can obtain
additional information and
Feed Grain
Land
Diversion
For ’B7
WASHINGTON - Secretary of
Agriculture Richard E. Lyng
recently announced a voluntary
paid land diversion for the 1987
feed grain program.
Those choosing to participate in
the paid diversion will be required
to divert 15 percent of their feed
grain acreage base to acreage
conservation reserve, Lyng said.
He said diversion payment rates
per bushel are: corn, $2; sorghum,
$1.90; barley, $1.60; and oats, 80
cents. Fifty percent of the diver
sion payment will be paid in ad
vance, with half in cash and the
balance in generic commodity
certificates.
The voluntary 15 percent paid
diversion in combination with the
20 percent acreage reduction
announced Sept. 29 gives
producers the opportunity to set
aside 35 percent of their feed gram
base acreage.
Secretary Lyng said the 1987 per
bushel established target prices
for feed grains will be the same as
for the 1986 crops - $3.03 for corn,
$2.88 for sorghum, $2.60 for barley,
$1.60 for oats.
He also announced that loan
rates per bushel for the 1987 crops
are $1.82 for corn, $1.74 for
sorghum, $1.49 for barley, $0.94 for
oats and $1.55 for rye
A marketing loan program will
not be implemented
Watch pH When Fertilizing Small Grains
calls for additions of phosphorus,
potassium or lime, Taylor suggests
adding these inputs during the last
phase of seedbed preparation.
Also, if double-cropped soybeans
are to follow the wheat, the P and
K required by the beans can be
applied at this time. Fall nitrogen
(20 to 30 pounds of N per acre) can
also be applied just before the last
disking or harrowing. “Research
has not consistently shown benefits
from fall-applied nitrogen,” the
agronomist says.
If the soil pH is too high, or the
soil test indicates possible
manganese deficiency problems
may be encountered, the nitrogen
fertilizer of choice would be am
monium sulfate. Broadcasting
manganese would .be expensive,
since in this case 20-40 pounds of
actual manganese would be
nomination forms from the
Franklin County Conservation
District, phone 264-8074 or from
their respective school principals.
needed for each acre. Instead, says
Taylor, the manganese can be
applied either in a band (at a rate
of 4-8 pounds per acre) or in a
foliar spray when deficiency
symptoms first appear.
“If your grain drill can band
fertilizer,” he says, “nitrogen
could also be banded, and using
ammonium sulfate will help
reduce the chances that any
micronutrients will limit yields.”
The exact timing of nitrogen
fertilization in the spring depends
on the status of the grain crop. If
the wheat, despite all measures
taken, has grown and tillered very
little, apply nitrogen as soon as
possible in the spring, or in late
February or very early March.
Under these circumstances, it’s
best to make split applications of N
to limit plant height. “Early
nitrogen applications will increase
the height of wheat and can
necessitate the use of a growth
regulator to shorten plants and
reduce lodging losses,” Taylor
cautions.
If an early application is not
needed, he recommends applying
N at Feekes growth stage 5 (when
the plants have fully tillered and
the leaf sheaths are fully erect) or
stage 6 (early jointing, when the
first node can be felt above the soil
surface).
“The nature of the previous crop
can also affect the nitrogen fer
tilization program for small
grains,” the agronomist says.
“For example, when following a
soybean crop, you can usually
expect some help from the
nitrogen fixed by this legume. So
adjust spring fert.ili7at.ion to ac
count for the N contribution from
the soybeans. However, if a great
deal of residue is left on the soil
surface after soybean harvest,
applying a small amount of N in
the fall would be useful to ensure
adequate free soil nitrogen for the
emerging grain crop. Reduce the
spring nitrogen rate accordingly.”
Split nitrogen applications will
reduce the risk of N loss either by
leaching or denitrification from
unforeseen weather conditions,
Taylor says. “Growers must
estimate the nitrogen rate with
which to topdress wheat in late
February or early March.
Preferably, N should not be ap
plied to frozen ground unless farm
circumstances dictate otherwise.”
The total available nitrogen for
the wheat should be between 60-100
pounds per acre (80-120 pounds per
acre for ICM wheat). “This means
the grower must estimate the
amount of residual N left in the
ground from preceding crops,”
Taylor says. “If you applied 20
pounds of N per acre in the fall,
assuming a carry-over after
soybeans of another 20 pounds of N
per acre, you should apply about
40-60 pounds of N in the spring.”
If using granular nitrogen, apply
it as uniformly as possible. Liquid
nitrogen is best placed between
each row, unless applied before
greenup as a broadcast spray.
A complete fertilizer can also be
applied in spring, Taylor says, in
order to provide the phosphorus
and potash necessary for double
cropped soybeans, if these
nutrients weren’t added in the fall.