Page 16—Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 15, 2000
Monitor Your Crop With Plant Analysis
NORCROSS, Ga. Have you
ever applied fertilizer and not seen
the results you expected? Did you
ever wonder why? Today, a lot of
producers taking a precision ap
proach to farming are confused over
why their fertility maps don’t match
up with their yield maps.
It’s important to remember that
yield is the end result of a host of in
teracting factors. End-of-season
analyses often come up short when
trying to understand why some
areas of the field yielded less than
others. What’s needed is some in
season assessment of how the crop is
doing. Plant analysis provides just
that.
Plant analysis tells you if your
crop is being fed properly. Plant
analysis results indicate whether or
not a plant has sufficient levels of
❖ Pasture
PONDERINGS *
(Continued from Pago 15)
you have a different type of live
stock that you have nothing to learn
from their system.
If you would like
additional informa
tion on grazing, you
can stop by any of
our local county
NRCS offices and
discuss your needs
with them. You can
also give me a call at
717-237-2221 or
write to me at
NRCS, One Credit
Union Place, Suite
340, Harrisburg, PA
17110-2993. I will
also be at many of
the listed pasture
walks and grazing
field days over the
grazing season.
Until next time,
happy grazing]
essential nutrients. That’s import
ant when you’re trying to uncover
the causes of a problem.
Plant analysis provides great in
formation for diagnosing problems.
Suspected nutrient deficiencies can
be confirmed. Sometimes, the infor
mation can be used to try and rectify
a problem in season. Other times, as
is frequently the case with phos
phate or potash applications, it
helps you decide how better to
manage the next crop. When used
with soil tests, plant analysis be
comes even more powerful.
Plants growing in soil depleted in
potassium or phosphorus will have
lower concentrations of potassium
or phosphorus. If soil fertility levels
are sufficient but plants are low in
phosphorus or potassium, you can
conclude that there are some other
factors that are limiting the plant’s
access to these nutrients. For in
stance, low plant concentrations of
phosphorus or potassium can occur
on fertile soils where root growth
has been severely restricted. Plant
analysis can help you understand if
factors other than soil fertility are
affecting yields.
Maximize y.
When it comes to improving Relative Feed
Value and maximizing the Crude Protein in
hay, nothing outperforms the New Idea® 5209
Disc Mower Conditioner Its high-speed disc
cutterbar glides through fields with ease,
even in extreme conditions. And the unique
Ti-Cor® Conditioning Rolls gently condition
the stems, speeding drydown
Consider getting a complete anal
ysis done. Laboratories offer many
different analysis options. Often, it
is a good idea to have plants tested
for as many nutrients as you can.
Why? If you’re trying to figure out
why one part of the field did better
than another, you may need to
know about nutrients you didn’t
think to test for. Having a complete
analysis done will ensure that your
plant data are complete and not lim
iting your investigations.
Be sure and take good samples so
the test results will mean something.
What plant parts to sample and
when to sample depend on how a
lab is set up to interpret test results.
Before taking plant samples, consult
your analytical lab and ask what
plant parts are needed and at what
growth stage to take them. You may
have to do a little review of plant
growth stages to get it right. Most
field guides for crops have pictures
of plant growth stages in them.
Your lab will tell you all the details
you need to know, like what to put
the samples in, how many plants to
sample, and how quickly to mail
them in.
The 5209's reliable design keeps you
mowing and conditioning year after year.
With the segmented cutterbar driveshaft, a
New Idea innovation, the cutterbar is truly mod
ular, which makes for easy maintenance
To see the disc mower conditioner that’ll
exceed your expectations not your budget,
visit your AGCO® New Idea dealer today
-A. I New Idea•
AGCO
Plant samples can be collected
more than once in a season. Have
you ever suspected that your crop
was behaving differently through
out the season? Maybe it was off to a
good start, then did poorly later on,
as in compacted soils. Sometimes, a
deficiency symptom may be seen
early in the season and then disap
pear. Did the crop overcome the
problem or is there still a hidden nu
trient deficiency? Taking plant sam
ples at different growth stages can
help you interpret whether or not
your crop is being properly fed all
season long. Which growth stages to
choose depends on the lab’s ability
to interpret the results. Choose only
the growth stages for which the lab
has good information
Plant analyses are an integral
part of good management. They are
part of an overall package of best
management practices including
scouting, soil testing, and good
record keeping. Take a few tests this
season. You may find some ways to
improve your yields and your prof
its.
For more information, contact
Dr. T. Scott Murrell, Northcentral
Director, PPI, 3579 Commonwealth
Rd., Woodbury, MN 55125, (651)
264-1936, e-mail: smurrell@ppi
far.org.
See Your
AGCO-
New Idea
Dealer Listed
Below.
Delaware
Georgetown
Baxter Farms
Maryland
Dayton
J.D. Mullinix
Pennsylvania
Bechtelsville
Miller Equipment
Bethel
Zimmerman’s Farm Service
Carlisle
Carlisle Farm Service
Chambersburg
Chambersburg Farm Service
Glen Rock
Wertz Farm & Power Equip,
Greencastle
Meyers Implements
Honesdale
Marshall Machinery, Inc
Klingerstown
Stanley’s Farm Service
Lebanon
Umbergers of Fontana
Mercer
Ralph W. Kyle
Mifflinburg
B, S & B Repair
Oakland Mills
Peoples Sales & Service
Quakertown
C. J. Wonsidler
Quarryville
A. L. Herr