Are you Reallocating?
Strategic Applied Fertilizer: Reallocation
Crops are looking great in the North region as of late despite the excess rainfall we have had in certain parts of the region. Did your crops show you any signs of nutrient deficiencies this year with excess moisture? We are a few weeks away from harvest which means we need to start planning for the next growing season by reflecting on the wins and losses of the season. How efficient was your fertility plan? Are there ways to improve your efficiency? Are you feeding your crop when it demands certain nutrients the most?
Look at these nutrient uptake charts for corn and soybeans and you will see that 60 days after planting is a critical stage for nutrient uptake. Do you have the soluble nutrients in place to meet these nutrient demands?
A balanced fertility program has multiple sources and applications throughout the growing season to feed the crop at key periods of influence. If you are wondering how to balance out your fertility program, think about shifting fertilizer sources from less effective products to more efficient ones positioned where the plant can use the nutrients known as Reallocation.
NACHURS has a Start2Finish program designed to position high-performance products during key influence periods to supply the correct nutrient when the crop demands it most. The Start2Finish program is laid out to show you what products work best by application method and growth stage of a given crop to guide you on how to reallocate your fertility program. For example, the traditional way to fertilize a corn crop might have been to apply all the N, P, and K required to grow the crop pre-plant either in the fall or spring. If I were to reallocate the traditional fertility program into a more balanced fertility program, a quarter of the N and half of the P and K would be applied pre-plant and focus on spoon-feeding the crop during the season. We wouldn’t be making extra passes, but maximizing the passes already taking place during the season. The planter can apply a high-quality starter like NACHURS Triple Option in-furrow to enhance crop emergence and accelerate root growth. Beside the row and side-dress applications are the perfect way to feed the crop right before its largest demand of N, K, and S using UAN and NACHURS K-flex. The herbicide pass gives us an opportunity to foliar feed N, P, and K plus micronutrients with NACHURS Finish Line. To maximize grain fill, I would apply N, K, and Boron using NACHURS NocKout at tassel to complete my program.
As you can see when we reallocate the traditional fertility program, we create a robust nutrient plan that feeds the crop throughout the entire growing season maximizing nutrient uptake and yield potential no matter what mother nature has in store.
Chad Smith, Sales Agronomist US North
