Do It Right Side Dressing

Side dressing has been identified as one of the ways to achieve the 4Rs of nutrient management.  What are the 4Rs?

•     Right Source
•     Right Rate
•     Right Time
•     Right Place

With side dressing, you can achieve the ‘Right Time’.  By separating your fertilizer applications into two or more treatments, you minimize the chances that all of your nitrogen will be washed away with the rains or lost to the atmosphere.  Additionally, when you side dress, you can adjust your application rate to what your crop needs at that vital time of year right before corn’s maximum uptake of nitrogen.

By using SoilSens, you can ensure that you also achieve the ‘Right Rate’.  Weather conditions and your soil properties will have dramatic effects on how much fertilizer you have to apply during side dressing.  The slope and terrain of your field will also effect it.  Low and high spots in your field will not need the same rate of application.

SoilSens can provide you an immediate assessment of the amount of nitrogen in your soil.  You can then determine how much to apply based on your crop’s needs in the next growing cycle.

For instance, a soil reading of 10 ppm in the 1^st 12 inches of soil and 15 ppm in the 2^nd 12 inches of soil would mean that you have 100 lbs of nitrogen (4X10 + 4x15) available to your crop.  High yielding corn will still need over 200 lbs to finish the season though!   You now know what you need to apply for nitrogen to achieve the corn yield that you’re shooting for.