Foliar nitrogen application - corn

[John-W-WI]

I'm looking for a way to give my corn more N during the growing season.

I apply N at planting via the planter, and spray a time or two after with round up. But on some of my lighter soils, the corn struggles. Does anyone apply N in liquid form? I'm hoping to use my 3 point sprayer to give the corn a little more N (not knife the N into the soil).

I know the big farmers in the area apply N with their irrigation, is there a way for us small time food-plotters to do the same?

Suggestions?

Thanks,

-John

 

[wiscwhip]

On light soils, N is not the limiting factor, lack of water itself is the limiting factor. On irrigated corn on light soils, they would get a decent yield just from the irrigation alone, the N just boosts their bushels per acre on top of the extra water.

 

[yoderjac]

John,

I don't grow corn for deer food and one of the reasons is because of the N (and other resources) it requires. I'm trying to use rotations and mixing crops to reduce my fertilizer costs and improve nutrient cycling. I find that I can feed deer with other crops that lend themselves more to this. I do include a light mix of corn in the soybeans I plant (7:1 ratio by weight). I do this primarily to add vertical cover to the soybeans, not produce corn as food. I completely ignore any N requirement for the corn. The only N it gets is the little bit in the MAP I use to achieve my P requirements for the beans. The rest of the N is whatever was banked by the previous beans and cover crop. I find I get quite a few good ears on each corn stalk. Certainly not farm production levels by any means, but a great addition to the food plot.

Granted, I'm not in the north where high carb winter foods are important and I may have a different view of corn if I lived there. So, I can't provide much insight into a foliar application for corn. I will say that generally farmers around here that use foliar applications of fertilizer do it as a short-term fix to salvage a crop until they can get soils amended. It is generally a more expensive way to apply fertilizer. It is absorbed quickly.

Another thing I've seen done (not done myself) was to drill corn into perennial clover. After the clover was well established, they mowed it low and then drilled corn into it. They put a sprayer in the drill with a nozzle directly over each row. It knocked back the clover, just in the row, back long enough for the corn to germinate and get above it. The remaining clover acted as a weed barrier for the corn. I believe they were using non-RR corn. The clover did provide some competition for water but added N. While you get the most N released when you terminate clover, some is always dying and being released over time. Just another way to consider adding N. This certainly did not completely fill the N need for the corn, but it reduced the amount of N they had to add.

Just thoughts to consider...

Thanks,

Jack

 

[FarmerDan]

I'm looking for a way to give my corn more N during the growing season.

I apply N at planting via the planter, and spray a time or two after with round up. But on some of my lighter soils, the corn struggles. Does anyone apply N in liquid form? I'm hoping to use my 3 point sprayer to give the corn a little more N (not knife the N into the soil).

I know the big farmers in the area apply N with their irrigation, is there a way for us small time food-plotters to do the same?

Suggestions?

Thanks,

-John

I don't think you'd like the result, spraying nitrogen on corn. It'll burn the heck out of it. If you have a sprayer and put some drop nozzles on it so the nitrogen is dribbled on the ground between the rows - that you wold like better. But, where are you going to get liquid N in an amount large enough (or small enough) to do what you need to do? If you do it when it really needs done, are the plants too tall for the euipment you have. And, if you can...what not broadcast spread some solid form on N? I only got a couple (two or three) and if I want to stop dress, i walk it on with a shoulder broadcast spreader. Work, yes. Expensive, no.

 

[Mortenson]

I agree with the urea spread on, depending on machinery, maybe at knee high. Drop nozzles work OK too, but that just depends on how you're set up. Seems like a lot of effort for plotters. The latest rage is Y drops, putting solution right next to the brace roots and worst case letting the dew drops help work it in. There's a foliar feed N called coRon that never really caught on, but it exists. It'd be really cost prohibitive to apply many lbs using that. How many units do you apply at planting?

 

[wiscwhip]

As I said originally, unless you understand the extreme permeability of the soils and high amount of desiccation that takes place on the soils of the Central Wisconsin Sand Plain, which John is on the northwestern edge of, you cannot begin to fully comprehend the futility of growing corn on non-irrigated ground in this area. Yes, lots of corn and other vegetables are grown in the area on those same soils now, but they are under near constant, daily irrigation to allow this to happen. No amount of fertilizer, foliar applied or otherwise is going to allow a viable crop to be grown without daily watering on this sand. And on that note, ask the folks who live around those irrigated crop fields how they feel about it when their once abundantly flowing wells dry up to just a trickle and have to be dug much, much deeper to reach a sustainable amount of ground water just to allow them enough volume to run their shower and washing machine at the same time. There is a reason that the farms started in this area back in the 1920's were abandoned and left to return to their natural state. To many years, dry summers and full crop failures would decimate anything planted on that soil, especially during the months of July and August when it may not rain for 2 or 3 weeks at a time, right during the time when corn would need the moisture the most. That whole area is mostly jackpine/red pine and black oak/red oak savanna for a reason.