Achieving Nutritional Balance in Corn: The Nitrogen is Causing A Problem
In this video, Kelly Garrett, Aarron and Mike discusses their ongoing research at a field day plot focusing on reduced nitrogen use. They emphasize the importance of achieving nutritional balance by validating the organic nitrogen mineralized from the soil. They are experimenting with various applications of calcium and micronutrients to address the imbalance caused by excess nitrogen.
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00:00 Hi, this is Kelly Garrett with Extreme Ag. I'm here with Aaron and Mike. We're out here at the field day plot. 00:04 It's one of the agro liquid plots where we're working on reduced nitrogen. Evans and I have validated the tremendous amount 00:13 of organic nitrogen that's being mineralized from the soil. And we're trying to achieve nutritional balance. 00:19 And I hate to say, or I hesitate to say that the nitrogen is causing a problem, but the nitrogen is causing a problem. 00:25 We are out of balance. That is all about what our sap sampling is about. That's what the research that Evans 00:29 and I have been conducting is, and you know, it's oversimplifying the process, but the plant takes micronutrients, 00:36 turns 'em into amino acids to convert the nitrogen to protein. We don't have enough micronutrients relative to the amount 00:43 of nitrogen that we have, especially when you consider or validate the amount that's mineralized from the soil. So our plot work here this year is trying 00:51 to achieve the nutritional balance. And Mike and Aaron, can you guys talk about in greater detail what we're doing to try to achieve that? 00:58 So yeah, when I first met with you guys, the big thing was was you guys had an abundant amount of calcium and we come to the conclusion 01:04 that it was not soluble. Mm-Hmm. So with liberate calcium, we figured, let's try a quart. 01:08 I think we started with a quart. Yep. Then went up two quarts trying to get some plant available calcium. 01:12 And I know you saw a lot of the results from the first one quart two court you saw and definite increase. Yeah. 01:18 So there's a study out of Texas a m talks about soluble calcium helping nitrogen uptake in the plant. 01:24 So, you know, that's kind of the thought process. It's, we already got it in furrow 'cause we want to get that calcium early, 01:29 but then we put it in the two by two and we're doing different raids in this study here at the field day plot of calcium 01:34 to see if putting more on is gonna get us better uptake or you know, as a quart fine, you know, less is more type thing. 01:40 So adding the micronutrients into the two by two is kind of a new thing for us as well. 01:44 And micro thousand, it's got a eight, I think it's 8, 10, 10 zinc. Yeah. Uh, zinc, iron, copper, manganese, boron. 01:49 And then we got cobalt, nickel, magnesium, calcium. And Molly, and I know you talked about Molly quite a bit wanting a little, 01:55 Yeah. So it'd be interesting to see if we see that show up as well. All those micros help with the simulations 02:01 of either the ammonium form or the nitrate form of nitrogen, which we get out here. You know, you get nitrate from high energy in 02:06 or any UAN you're using. So that'd be very intriguing what we see with those products. So then here you've got different, you took micro five 02:13 or uh, excuse me, hydrogen in at five gallons and 10 gallons. Yep. So you're trying to assimilate. Okay. No nitrogen. 02:18 Five gallons. 10 gallons. Yep. One quart, two quarts. So do you feel that obviously you look around we're water, we were waterlogged early. 02:25 Do you think we'll see a major difference with that right now from what you've observed? I, I do think we'll see a major difference. 02:32 You know, after the last couple years being dry, Evans and I have been talking as, uh, is the two by two even paying and we are considering 02:38 taking it off the planter. We're considering changing the program. Now this year here, we're back to, uh, 02:44 I don't even know if you say normal rainfall. We went to zero to a whole bunch. And, uh, we had a, a field, 02:50 the last field we planted this year, uh, the two by two pump broke right before in the second to last field. And they're like, well, what should we do? 02:57 And I'm like, it's May 20th. There's rain coming, I want to get done plan. I threw it. It looks tough. Yeah. It's, we've talked 03:02 about the, the field looks tough. So do I think we're gonna see a difference based on what it looks like a half mile east of here? 03:07 Yes. Yes. I can def define, I can definitely say yes Aaron. I think we will see a difference 03:12 because we're seeing it now. Yeah. You know, and uh, the calcium, uh, part is a great example. 03:17 Uh, you know, temple and Chad and Matt, they're always giving me a hard time about how great this soil is. 03:21 And it is. But we have so much calcium here. Our base saturation can be out of balance and it ties everything up. 03:27 It creates a challenge. The premise to me that you could ever have soil available, calcium, soil available, magnesium 03:33 or even sulfur is a foreign concept to me. The electrical charges of the, you know, positive, double positive, double negative. 03:39 You know, when talking about sulfur, it ties up so fast, it's just not available. Right. And we need to supplement those nutrients. Yep. 03:45 Calcium, magnesium and sulfur. We need to supplement that. That's what we're attacking here 03:49 with the access sulfur with the liberate. And you know, you're kind of, uh, in a two step program there. 03:53 We got, we have some, we've got some calcium inferral, we've got some liberate calcium in the two by two. And then of course later on in the season and, 04:01 and now the micros as well, later on the season, we'll come back with them foliar when we get to the R stages to try to mimic or, 04:07 or match that release of the organic nitrogen in the soil. And, and that's what all these different plots are about is 04:14 what, what is the best, what's the best ROI gonna be? Now every year is different, but I think at least we can come up with the 04:19 Map. So that two by two that went down on you and you didn't get on there, what, what did you lose out on? What, what did you have in that? 04:25 The nitrogen and sulfur and some fo Acid and liberators in there. Liberate. There'll Be the rest of the See then. 04:31 Yes. And that and that corn, you know, it's not gonna die, but I, I think there's a yield penalty. 04:36 Evans thinks there in, in the second to last field we planted, you can see to the plant where the pump broke. 04:41 Wow. You know, is that, what's the ROI gonna be there? Is it, is it gonna be a, is it just a vegetative response or is there gonna be a yield? 04:48 Right now it sure looks like there's gonna be a yield response. Yeah. I'm interested to see. Really am. Perfect. 04:53 So, you know, we'll, we'll follow this throughout the season because, uh, to me this is the number one research we're 04:59 doing on the farm, that nutritional balance. And we're trying it under many different aspects. But this is, this is ground zero right here.
Growers In This Video
See All GrowersKelly Garrett
Arion, IA