Nutrient Challenges with Wet Weather

 With the overabundance of moisture this spring, it is important to re-evaluate your nutrient management plans. If you typically put the majority of your fertilizer on at or before planting, there is a good chance most of that nitrogen has left the root zone. There are a few things that you can do to help combat nitrogen leaching.
 

1. Nitrogen Stabilizers – N Stabilizers help prevent the conversion of nitrogen to leachable form, nitrate.  Different nitrogen stabilizers provide different forms of protection, so its important to understand your greatest threat of N loss.
2. Spit Application – If you have the ability to split apply your nitrogen, you can help decrease your chances of loss. Timing can be key to split application. Be sure to get your nitrogen to the plant when you have the biggest chance to influence yield. During the V5-V6 growth stages, corn is determining the number of rows around the ear. Giving the crop a shot of nitrogen at or before this time period can have a big affect on yield.
3. Tissue Sampling – It can be difficult to determine how much nitrogen, or other nutrients, you might have lost due to wet conditions. Tissue sampling give a snapshot of what is happening in the plant at a given time. Often the plant can become deficient in nutrients without showing physical symptoms of deficiency. By taking a tissue sample we can help prevent or lessen any yield loss before deficiency has a detrimental effects on the crop.

 
Be sure to talk to the Great Bend Co-op sales staff to evaluate your in-season nutrient management plans.