Fertilizer applied at corn planting is quite common in our area.
People like the benefit of improved emergence, rapid early growth, and the increased ability to overcome adverse growing conditions in early spring.
Starter fertilizer, often used in addition to a complete soil fertility program, is expensive and time-consuming.
So the question is, “Do the visual benefits translate to increased yield?”
To determine yield benefit of fertilizer placement at planting, Dr. Chad Lee, Extension grain crops specialist; Dr. Hanna Poffenbarger, a researcher in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences; and Dr. Daniel Quinn, former University of Kentucky doctoral student and recently hired Extension grain crops specialist for Purdue, analyzed corn yield response to starter fertilizer application.
They reviewed data from previously published research performed across the United States. The data included both small plot and on-farm research trials performed in the U.S. from 1990 through 2019, which contained in-field replication and randomization.
This analysis included a total of 474 individual comparisons of starter versus no starter across 23 published research studies and nine U.S. states. They used a meta-analysis to examine the data across these various studies and locations.
A meta-analysis is simply the combining of data from different studies and using specific statistical methods to find the overall yield effects of specific management practices. The lessons that follow reveal what they learned about starter fertilizer and corn yields.
Averaged across the comparisons, starter fertilization significantly increased corn grain yield by 5.2%. Of the 474 comparisons of corn with starter versus corn without starter, 74% showed a yield increase from starter fertilizer.
Overall, average grain yields for corn containing a starter fertilizer and corn not containing a starter fertilizer were 152.9 and 146.6 bushels per acre, respectively.
Application methods of 2×2 and in-furrow had similar results when the majority of N was applied at planting. Only 2×2 application increased corn yield when the majority of N was applied at sidedress.
When the majority of N fertilizer application was delayed until sidedress, the 2×2 starter significantly increased corn yield by 8.9% relative to no starter, while in-furrow starter had no significant effect on corn yield.
Starter fertilizer increased corn yields when corn followed soybean or corn.
Corn yield increase to starter fertilization did not differ between corn following a soybean, corn, cotton, sorghum, or wheat from starter fertilizer application across rotations.
The University of Kentucky does not recommend a higher N rate for corn following corn compared to corn following soybeans based on years of research in Kentucky.
Soil organic matter, soil texture, average planting month temperature, and average planting month rainfall did not impact corn response to the starter. Corn yields increased in response to starter even when soil testing showed P and K were above critical values.
Starter fertilizer increased corn yields in no-till and tilled fields. Starter fertilizer use has been promoted for no-till management systems to amend the negative effects of surface residues on corn emergence, root growth, and nutrient supply.
The presence of a residue and mulch cover in a no-till soil system can significantly lower soil temperature and decrease the rate of nutrient mineralization from soil organic matter.
The corn yield increase in response to starter fertilizer was similar between starters containing N-P and those containing N-P-K. The number of observations for each starter fertilizer formulation reveals that, at least in research studies, most starter fertilizers contain N with P or N with P and K.
The benefit of starter fertilization decreased at higher seeding rates. Their results support recent research showing that localized nutrient applications near the root zone at high corn plant densities may cause yield reduction relative to broadcast fertilizer applications because of excessive root growth and competition for soil nutrients.
The benefit of starter fertilization increased at higher yield levels. Contrary to the results for corn plant population, results for corn yield level indicate that the benefit of starter fertilization increases with increasing yield level. As corn yield potential increases, corn nutrient uptake requirements also increase.
A greater response to starter fertilizer application in high-yielding environments may reflect the greater crop nutrient demand and reduced risk of other limitations in high-yielding environments such as water holding capacity.
Clint Hardy is the agricultural extension agent for the Daviess County Extension Office. He can be reached at 270-685-8480.
June 13, 2021 at 12:00PM
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