Co-Authored with Ian McDonald, OMAFRA and Ken Janovicek, University of Guelph OMAFRA Field Crop Unit staff have traditionally conducted a Pre Sidedress Nitrogen Test (PSNT) survey across Ontario at the beginning of June each year to examine the natural soil nitrate available. In the past, 80-100 samples would be collected from fields across the province that had not received any…
The corn nitrogen calculator app generates a recommendation for the most economical N rate for a corn field. It is based on more than 40 years of Ontario research and takes into account soil type, rotation, and the cost scenario (i.e. anticipated cost of N and price of corn). The app allows you to save the recommendations for each field…
Christine Brown November 13, 2015 10362 Comments Off on Carbon: Nitrogen Ratios of Organic Amendments“Carbon to nitrogen ratio imbalance” is a term used to describe a type of nitrogen deficiency. A field recently had pulp and paper biosolids applied. The newly planted crop looked great, until the seedlings ran out of seed reserves and started utilizing soil nutrients. The crop then turned a neon shade of yellow. What happened? When an organic amendment is…
Co-author Ken Janovicek, University of Guelph. Background The OMAFRA field crop unit in collaboration with farm cooperators, agribusiness and SGS-AgriFood Labs conducted the annual survey of soil nitrate nitrogen levels across the province from June 3rd to June 5th, sampling over 130 fields. The samples were collected after heavy rainfall events during the weekend of May 30-31, where some areas received up to…
Greg Stewart January 30, 2015 2743 Comments Off on Investigating Yield and Economic Performance of a “Build and Maintain” Fertility Approach versus a “Sufficiency” Approach in Corn: Interim ReportCurrent P and K recommendations in Ontario guide crop producers to apply a rate of fertilizer that will provide the greatest potential of an economic response during the year of application. Increases in crop yields over time have resulted in higher nutrient removal rates which have decreased the “equilibrium” soil test values where average crop removal rates equal the recommended…
Analyzing organic amendments, such as manure, compost, digestate and biosolids, has always been recommended for macro-nutrients, but there is more to manure than just N-P-K. Significant micro-nutrients, organic matter and other elements are also present, and can reveal additional cost savings or management precautions. An analysis does not give a lot of detail about the effect or the impact of…
by Joel Bagg, Forage Specialist, & Bonnie Ball, Soil Fertility Specialist, OMAFRA Sulphur (S) received from atmospheric sulphur dioxide emissions (acid rain) in Ontario has steadily declined by over 50% during the last 25 years. We are beginning to see yield responses in more situations when applying S to alfalfa. Sometimes the response is dramatic, while in other situations there…
Greg Stewart, Peter Johnson and Ian McDonald, OMAF & MRA Background In 2014 the OMAF & MRA field crops team once again surveyed a range of corn fields to determine the impact that this springs weather has had on the level of residual soil nitrate. This year April was cool with less growth than normal and from May 1…
Protecting water from manure nutrients would be a lot easier if the weather would cooperate. Most produers know that applying manure on snow or on frozen ground is a bad idea. Nutrients don’t end up where they are needed and more money is spent on compensating with commercial fertilizer. From an evironmental perspective, however, the risk is high for nutrient rich water to move…
Potash levels are falling in some Ontario fields according to soil and tissue samples. K depletion is often a result of not fully accounting for K removal during forage years of the rotation. 3 years of alfalfa can remove more than 900 lb K2O /ac (Table 1). That’s 1500 lb/ac of muriate of potash (0-0-60). For example; in a loam…
Co-Authored by Ian McDonald Background: In 2013 a range of corn fields were sampled to determine what impact the weather has had on the level of residual soil nitrate. This year April was cool and relatively wet while the first half of May came in warm and dry followed by conditions since mid-May that have been cooler and wetter than average….
Liquid manure targeted to forage crops has value beyond the convenience of application. With phosphorus and potassium prices increasing over time, no one has to tell a livestock producer that manure has value. With the realization of the manure nutrient value, there has been a greater effort to target the manure beyond just corn crops and to fields further…
The fertilizer value of liquid hog manure is significant and can provide all the required P205 and K20 and most of the nitrogen required by a corn crop. The table below shows the average available nutrients on a per thousand imperial gallons per acre basis. The availability is based on spring applied and incorporated within 1 day. When manure is fall…
According to Environment Canada, atmospheric sulphur dioxide emissions were reduced by over 50% from 1990 to 2010. Although this is a positive outcome for emissions reductions it does signal an inevitable need to ensure that field crops have an adequate supply of this essential nutrient. A study was initiated in 2011 to determine how varying rates of sulphur affected winter…
Does ESN pay in spring wheat? Results from two on-farm sites in eastern Ontario showed no advantage in grain yield or protein content with the use of ESN in 2011 (see Table 1). There was also no significant difference in residue soil nitrogen levels. As expected there was also no impact in the percentage of Fusarium Damage Kernels (FDK%) or…
