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Aberdeen MS | Chad,
Around here, although very few have had the "gumption" to attempt it and use the practise, banding fertilizer and reducing rates has been promoted for close to 20 years. Think about this for a few minutes and look "deeper" into the situation, rather than just looking at the surface and what "has been" said for years and years. Local dealers are still all about volume going out of the plant while giving lip service to most, and attempting to thwart
With a dry fertilizer program (or non ortho products) only 20% of applied nutrients are available for the plant in application year. Lets take a somewhat normal (for here anyway) rate of say 50 P and 75 K. 20% of each is 10 P and 15 K. Now I have never been a proponent for the "specialty" products such as Nachurs or Conklin (the only ones that come to mind this morning), but by utilizing a product such as that, placing it "in strip", you basically are applying/utilizing the same amount of nutrients.
The key factor that needs to be watched is your base fertility of the field. If your levels are already high, one "should" be able to go for a number of years before drastic results MIGHT be seen. I've heard that (in our conditions here anyway) that drastic depletion of K levels in the field could take 15 - 20 years spoon feeding in that type of fashion.
It falls into the components of the SYSTEM of strip tilling. A more "micro management" of field fertility is required than when doing the conventional route of broadcast and tillage. Some are willing/able to do that, others are not. But one has more time in say late June/early July (ideal time to sample) and put a plan together than in the spring or fall. Farming is still a business, don't fall into the mind set I've heard from many about the savings of time etc leaves them more time to play. It's difficult to get away from the theory and practise that after the crop is planted and sprayed, farming is "done" till fall. Most on this board do not hold that theory, but in reality, the majority of growers in general do and set their system of farming up for that mind set.
When talking with George Rehms at the Conference in SF this winter, I posed the question to him of how much N could be laid into the strip with no detriment to seed/seedling burn using 28%. Utilizing a 3 point application on the Pluribus (one down the middle and 2 on the outside of the coulters using a stream nozzle), he concluded a 140# N rate would have no detriment, only time caution was warranted was a dry year (which is about 1 in 10 here, maybe). Then a 2-3 day wait after stripping would be possibly be warranted. So a complete nutrient package could be applied in spring with the strip till unit at the time of stripping. That saves an application via a floater and/or side dressing.
You may want to mark your calender for the end of July (I can't remember the dates but I know Jim has it marked on his calender). There will be a field day in Lamberton/Waseca around the 26 or 27 if memory is correct, focusing on conservation practises put on by the U of M. | |
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Anyone here run planters on Bauer Bars??? Jim you may want to jump in here as well......
