Do you know how many pounds per bushel of phosphorus and potassium corn pulls out of the soil? Nitrogen gets all the attention in crop production, but these two nutrients are also very important to corn production, and, in years of decent yields, the total pounds per acre of P and K drawn out of the soil bank can be substantial. Fall is a good time to replace these nutrients, once you’ve determined what the soil is lacking. (For the answer to the first questions, watch the video below).
After harvest is also a great time to pull up some corn stalks and take a look at how planter set up and seeding conditions may have impacted the early growth of the crop. In this episode of the Corn School, Aaron Stevanus, market development agronomist with Pride Seeds, talks about just how much phosphorus and potassium corn and soy yields draw from the soil and why an investment of time and maybe a little money on your planter can pay off, as well as how to gauge compaction issues at seeding via root growth.
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