Nitrogen: Flex and go fast

It's April 4 and raining again in central Missouri. A lot of work planned for fall did not get done. Opportunities to catch up in late winter or early spring have been nil. I expect a spring where the value of good decisions will be magnified.

Strategies for nitrogen on wheat this spring

It was a difficult fall in Missouri and much of the Midwest. Crops came out late, crops came out wet, fields were rutted, wheat got planted late or not at all, and once the wheat was up it found itself in a hostile (cold & wet) environment.

What about nitrogen for a corn crop? Still there?

download this article It’s been wet over the whole state of Missouri. Since October, really, but especially in May.

Crop sensors improve nitrogen application

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Sensor-guided nitrogen application can save corn producers money and increase yields, says Peter Scharf, University of Missouri Extension soil scientist.Scharf showed how crop sensors diagnose variable nitrogen needs at a recent farmer technology field day at MU’s Bradford Research Center. In the last decade, on-farm demonstrations have been carried out in more than 100 cornfields and a dozen cotton fields in Missouri.

Cover crop residue can complicate nitrogen management in corn

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Farmers who rely on surface-applied nitrogen may have difficulty if they apply to fields with high surface residue, says University of Missouri Extension nutrient management specialist John Lory.This is especially true for UAN solution, Lory says. Residue can temporarily tie up nitrogen fertilizer because it is taken up by microorganisms decomposing the residue.“This is particularly a problem with liquid nitrogen…