Page 20—Corn Talk, Laneaater Farming, Saturday, January 29, 2000 Using Leaves For Corn, Soybean Production Mark Antle Department Of Agronomy Penn State Farmland can benefit from the application of leaves col lected from municipalities. However, there arc some agro nomic issues regarding soil quality and crop production which every producer should consider before agreeing to accept leaves for land application. For example, what is the nutrient value of the leaves which will be applied? How will the leaves affect the organ ic matter content of the soil? Will the extra carbon immobil ize too much nitrogen? How will the application of leaves impact grain yields? A three-year study was con ducted by Dr. Joseph Heckman at the Rutgers Snyder Research and Extension Farm in northern New Jersey in order to address these concerns and others. The trial consisted of the application of three different rates (0, 10, and 20 tons dry matter per acre) of leaves to field plots each November for three consecutive years. The plots were chiseled soon after application of the leaves and planted to com or soybeans the following spring. Soybean plots were split to compare 0 vs. 100 pounds per acre of additional nitrogen. The com plots were split to compare 170 and 270 pounds per acre of additional nitrogen. Tree leaves have a relatively low concentration of most plant nutrients (1 percent N, 0.1 per cent P, and 0.4 percent K) and a high carbon to nitrogen ratio of approximately 50:1. However, an application of 20 tons per acre of tree leaves (approxi mately 6 inches deep) adds an estimated 45 pounds P pa acre, 171 pounds K per acre, 108 pounds Mg pa acre, and 738 pounds Ca pa acre. Soil analyses were per formed one year after the three year study was completed. As expected, soil organic matta increased with the heavy appli cations of leaves. Organic mat ter content was 2.4 percent, 2.9 percent, and 3.1 percent on plots receiving 0, 10, and 20 tons per acre, respectively. Mchlich-3 levels for P and Mg did not significantly increase with the annual application of leaves, but at the 20 ton per acre rate, Ca and K levels showed a significant increase. The application of leaves to cropland does cause some immobilization or “tie-up” of available nitrogen. Soybean plants in the trial exhibited mild symptoms of nitrogen deficien cy until a wcll-nodulatcd root system was established. How ever, this did not seem to reduce soybean grain yield. When a higher rate of N was applied to com grown on soil amended with leaves, grain yields generally increased by the additional nitrogen fertilizer. There is still some uncertain ty in making nitrogen recom mendations on com fields where leaves have been applied. Therefore it was deter mined in the study that more research is needed on crop nit Sets . Features: • 750, 875 and 1200 gallon tank sizes • HARDIPARALIFT™ System - adjusts boom height - fast and friction free adjustment provides up to 88” crop clearance • Tank design optimizes agitation for uniform mixture - centrally located sump empties tank completely • HARDI Flush and Rinse™ System (optional) - flushes control unit, pump, filters, boom lines and main tank - mounted under main tank providing sprayer stability and accessibility for filling • HARDI Color-coded Manifold Valve Control System - controls sprayer functions quickly and easily • High ground clearance - 27” • HARDI Self-priming Diaphragm Pump ■~- * Eagle Boom with Patented Self-stabilizing Suspension - provides smooth ride and level boom in rough fields at high speeds - boom widths from 45’ to 90’ CHAMBERSB CHAMBERSBURG FARM SERVICE 975 S. Main St. 717-264-3533 rogen requirements under these conditions. Generally soybean and com yields were comparable or bet ter in soils amended with leaves compared to the unamended soils. Com yields appeared to increase from approximately 2 to nearly 20 bushels per acre with addition of the leaves. The researchers speculated that die improvement was in part due to improvements in soil moisture holding capacity. One item not specifically addressed is the fact that leaves supplied by municipalities sometimes contain a small amount of bottles, cans, and other undesirable materials. Leaves collected from curbside are usually vacuumed into a truck and of course the vacuum will pull in whatever loose material happens to be in or around the leaf piles. If a pro ducer is not willing to accept a certain amount of foreign Trailer Sprayer dustry’s standard CARLISLE. PA CARLISLE FARM SERVICE 260 York Road 717-243-4419 EASTON. P GEO. V. SEIPLE & SON, INC. 1521 Van Buren Rd, 610-258-7146 GLEN ROCK. PA WERTZ FARM EQUIPMENT PA Route 516, RD 3 1-800-839-1992 iTOWN. P, ER KLI STANLEY’S FARM SERVICE RD #1 Box 46, Off Rt. 125 570-648-2088 URG. Pi WIS ERDLEY FARM EQUIPMENT Salem Church Road Off Rt. 45 570-524-2408 CLINTON CO- PA DOTTERER EQUIPMENT Route 64 1-800-356-3397 IDRIA. PA LONE MAPLE SALES Route 119 724-668-7172 (0(D1M f AM wmm PENNSYLVANIA MASTER CORN GROWERS ASSOC., INC. material in the leaves, he or she should probably not accept bulk leaf waste. The exception to this would be if the leaves were composted and screened, but there is still a possibility of some inorganic material pass ing through the screens. In general, the application of tree leaves to cropland appears to enhance certain soil physical properties such as organic mat ter and to a lessor degree pro vide a source of nutrients. Increasing soil organic matter on, t prec NEW BETHLEHEM. PA HETRICK'S FARM SUPPLY RD #3 814-275-3507 NEW HOLLAND. P ABC GROFF, INC. 110 S. Railroad Ave, 717-354-4191 lEWPORT. P SMITH FARM EQUIPMENT 30 Aucker Rd. 717-567-3562 NEW RINGGOLD ECKROTH BROS. FARM EQUIPMENT Rt. 443 & 895 570-943-2131 can result in higher yields on amended soils. Careful atten tion must be paid to managing carbon and nitrogen because there is the potential for nitro gen immobilization. Higher N rates might be necessary to compensate for the additional carbon added in the leaves. Some fields will benefit more than others from the addi tion of leaf waste. Each produc er needs to decide if this is a practice that would be worth the extra management on his or her farm. ency a Available with HARDI Pilot electronic application controller OREFIELD. P, ECKROTH EQUIPMENT 4910 Kernsville Road 610-366-2095 RICHLAND. PA LEBANON VALLEY IMPLEMENT 700 East Linden St. 717-866-7518 LaCORTE FARM & LAWN EQUIP. 1241 Old Country Road 516-727-8700 SHILOH. N. FARM RITE, INC. 122 Old Cohansey Rd, 856-451-1368