Page 22—Corn Talk, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 10, 1998 Is Starter Fertilizer Necessary For Corn? the seedling plant with a sup ply of easily available nutri ents until it can establish an adequate root system and the soil conditions improve. Then, if the soil has good fer tility, the plant will be able to take care of itself. The starter will have done it's job. The decision about whether a starter is neces sary will depend on two main factors, the fertility level of the soil and the conditions at and immediately following planting. It is recommended that a starter always be used on soils which test low, espe cially for phosphorus. On soils with optimum to high fertility levels, this decision will depend more on the con- DOUG BEEGLE Extension Specialist Penn State One of the most common questions recently is when do I need to use a starter fertil izer for corn? Starter fertilizer is usual ly most effective in cold, wet soils where nutrient release and root growth are slow. These conditions limit the ability of the seedling plant, whit it's small root system, to get enough nutrients to get off to a good start. This is especially critical for an immobile nutrient critical for an ilnmobile nutrient like phosphorus. Starter fertilizer provides Narrow-Row Corn Studies (Contlnutd from Pag* 21) Compared to conventional rows, yields were increased by an average of 0.9 tons per acre when the population was increased in the narrow rows. As planting was delayed, there was an increased response to narrow row spacing. This may have been due to “improved light interception,” based upon Penn State’s findings. This may be impor tant in areas where corn is planted double-cropped after hay or barley, accord ing to Roth. According to Bob Anderson, Lancaster crops agent who parti cipated in the study, narrow row corn planted later allowed the crops to canopy over earlier. During the field day in August, grow ers had a chance to ‘‘eyeball” the crops to see the effects of the normal compared to the upright leafed hybrids and the effects of planting both conventional and narrow-row com. Research has found that grain yields improve generally by about S percent when using narrow row com. Silage yields improve about 10-15 percent when using narrow rows. In the studies, row spacing and plant population had no sig nificant effects on for age quality. The challenge fac ing growers, accord ing to Roth, includes selecting the right types of planting and harvesting equipment. Anderson noted that it is relatively easy to obtain planters for narrow-row corn, but harvesting equip ment is only slowly coming into the hands of growers. The large silage operators and the smaller custom harvesting businesses will be the first to see the benefits of ditions. If the com is being planted early in cold, wet conditions, and it will be cold and wet for a while after planting, it is likely that a starter fertilizer will be beneficial. However, if the com is planted on soils with optimum or higher fer tility, and the soils are warm and will likely stay warm, starter fertilizer will provide little or no benefit. Starter fertilizers rarely provide a benefit on soils that test high or excessive unless the conditions at and imme diately following planting are very adverse. There are several impor tant management considera tions for starter fertilizer. narrow-row corn, noted Roth. Roth noted that harvesting equipment technolo gy is slowly adapting to the demand for use on narrow-row com. €®im mm mws The first consideration is the starter fertilizer material. Any good complete fertilizer which contains at least nitro gen and phosphorus will work as a starter fertilizer. Avoid materials containing urea. The physical form of the fertilizer, whether it is a blend, granulated complete fertilizer, or a fluid fertilizer does not make a difference in starter performance. The second consideration is the rate of starter fertilizer. If the fertility level of a soil is good, then only a small amount of starter is required. Usually, 100 Lancaster Silo * 2008 Horseshoe Road • Lancaster, PA 17601 *717/299-3721 PENNSYLVANIA MASTER CORN GROWERS ASSOC.. INC. pounds of starter per acre is more than adequate. At low soil fertility levels the rate can be increased to meet more of the needs of the crop. However, the maximum rate should not exceed a total of 70 pounds of nitrogen plus potash applied per acre. The final consideration is placement. The key to starter fertilizer performance is to place it where it is easily accessible by the limited root system of the seedling plant. Thus it should be placed near to the seed and preferably below the seed for best results. Compact Silage Blower Powerful 60” blower foi tremendous silage handling capability and built-in kernal processor. Capable of 2 tons per minute +.
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