Search Results for: maize nutrient requirements
17. Forage maize – fertiliser requirements
Unravels frequent misunderstandings about the nutrient requirement of forage maize. Provides clear, practical guidelines on the best form of nutrients, optimum amounts and correct timings.
Focussing on the Nutrition of Maize
Whether grown for animal silage, AD feedstock or grain, appropriate fertilisation is vital to the success of the maize crop because it greatly influences not only the yield of the crop and its nutritional content but also growing costs.
Potassium uptake requirements of some crops
Fertiliser recommendations for potash (K2O) are usually based on removal or offtake of K2O at harvest. Some detailed results of measurements on K2O uptake during crop growth show that greater care is needed to ensure potash supply meets crop requirement. Difference between uptake and offtake The amount of a nutrient needed for full growth of […]
2021/22 Season Review
Looking back at last season with robust soil and crop analysis data is a fantastic means of assessing how the season went and determining how to improve performance for the coming season with insightful management decisions.
Impact of price on nutrition decisions
In such uncertain times placing greater scrutiny on all inputs is understandable. However, farmers must be careful not to reduce inputs which are crucial but, like potash, whose benefits are not visual or directly obvious.
Price implications for P&K applications
Cost and price rises are a frequent focus in the world right now, but especially within agriculture due to the circumstances in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia as a result. Although within arable farming, 2022 should produce reasonable returns, livestock farmers may not be so fortunate, whilst there is much greater uncertainty beyond this for all.
Potash for grass
Many farmers are not getting the best from their grassland because of a lack of potash. Any green material removed from fields also removes large quantities of potash which will need replacing to ensure grass productivity is maintained.
Optimising potash use on cut grassland
Grass cut regularly, as silage, haylage or hay, removes very large amounts of potassium (K). Unless this is replaced, soil K concentrations will fall. In recent years there is evidence of an overall increase in the number of grassland soils below target index (2-), as well as a decline in the use of potash fertiliser. This situation is not sustainable and grass yields will fall unless corrected.
Organic manures
Forage maize is a very convenient crop on which to apply manure or slurry in the spring when there are limited opportunities for spreading on grassland. In the past, heavy applications have often been applied to arable land before sowing maize. Such applications may be counter-productive because they can decrease yield and quality. Applications should […]
Timing
Phosphate Because phosphate helps root development it is important to ensure adequate supplies of P are available for the developing root system. Unfortunately, phosphate is a very immobile nutrient and roots have to grow to where the phosphate is rather than the reverse. Water soluble phosphate in fertilisers may also become less available fairly rapidly […]
What are the effects of potash deficiency?
We write ‘effects of potash deficiency’ rather than ‘symptoms of deficiency’, because so many of the negative effects of a shortage of available potash to crops are not clearly apparent, whereas ‘symptoms’ implies some visible effect. Of course severe deficiency has visible symptoms (Figure 1), but there can be many expensive negative impacts on the […]