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
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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.
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Blower
Powerful 60” blower foi
tremendous silage
handling capability and
built-in kernal
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