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As part of our contribution
to a regional cropping systems project sponsored by the Foundation
for Agronomic Research, we have been evaluating various liquid starter
fertilizers for corn. We compared five alternatives to two fairly
common programs: 10-30-0 and 10-30-10 per acre on high P testing
soils. Three of the alternatives were higher N starters consisting
of UAN and a UAN/10-34-0 blend to give us a 50-0-0, 50-30-0, and
a 30-30-0 treatment. Another alternative was a 30-30-0-10S program
that was composed of 10-34-0 and 8-0-0-9. The last alternative was
not to use any starter. This year we conducted two trials, one in
Centre County and one near Hershey in Dauphin County. Both trials
were no-tilled into soybean stubble. The results of both trials
were different. At Centre County, there was little consistent visual
differences among the treatments in height or color. The best yields
in this trial (140 bu/acre) occurred with either no starter or 10-30-10.
At Hershey, three of the starters (30-30-0-10S, 10-30-0, and 10-30-10)
resulted in slightly taller and darker green corn. At harvest yield
differences were not significantly different, but these three had
the highest yields. We did not see any stand reduction in either
trial. The take home message- starter responses on high P soils
is not that great, especially in a warm dry season. We also did
not see much benefit of the higher N starters at either site. These
starters have been found to be advantageous on high P soils in several
other studies in other states. Still other research seems to suggest
the need for K is most critical even on high testing soils. Our
results tend to support the latter. We plan on continuing our effort
again next year.
We also looked at how hybrids respond
to starter fertilizer again this year. Last year we found that three
of the six hybrids we evaluated responded to starter and the other
three did not. This is similar to what a Kansas State University
researcher has found for the last three years. This year we found
yield differences to starter that were generally similar to last
year with the same hybrids tending to show higher yields with starter.
This year, though, with all the drought stress, our yield differences
were not different statistically. We'll continue this research again
next year.
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