Practical Nutrient Management (Part 3)

D|agnost|c 1oo|s Methods

O %ere are tree basic tools available for diagnosing soil fertility:
4 ield observations
4 Plant tissue analysis
4 $oil analysis
O %ese are bested integrated and used togeter:
4 %ere is no substitute of field observations and te careful
recording of circumstantial evidence.
4 %is requires skill, experience, and an open mind.
4 "uite often soil fertilizer issues are te result of soil
compaction, weater conditions, pest damage, or uman
error.
9|ant Symptoms I|e|d Cbservat|ons
O %ere are five tings you ave to do:
1. Develop an organized way to record your observations. %ese
records are important for current seasonal conditions and as
istoric references for future years.
2. Look for spatial patterns - ow problems seem to be
distributed in your field and in individual plants.
or example, linear patterns migt suggest problems
related to tillage, drain tile, or te incorrect spreading of
fertilizers.
Differences in swales (between low-lying and crowns in
your fields) migt suggest aeration or drainage issues.
3. Closely examine individual plant leaves to caracterize any
foliage symptoms.
Nutrient deficiencies produce caracteristic symptoms
on leaves. Browning of te edges of younger leaves
suggest micronutrient or P issues wile affected older
leaves suggest N or P issues.
4. Observe and measure differences in plant growt and crop
yield tat may reflect different levels of soil fertility.
Ceck bot above-ground and below-ground growt.
. Obtain records from previous years as well as notes on istory
of management for te site.
O #emember: %is is skill tat is experiential. It involves learning-by-
doing. %e more you do it, te better youll become.
9|ant Ana|ys|s 1|ssue 1est|ng
O %e concentration of essential elements in plant tissue is related to
plant growt or crop yield. %is is well known for most crops.
O %e goal is to remain witin te sufficiency range for nutrients for
tat specific crop.
O or example, te sufficiency range for te various nutrients for:
N
(%)
P
(%)
K
(%)
Ca
(%)
Mg
(%)
Fe
(ug/g)
Mn
(ug/g)
Zn
(ug/g)
B
(ug/g)
Cu
(ug/g)
Corn 2.-
3.
0.3-
0.
1.-
3
0.2-
1
0.16-
0.4
2-300 30-200 2-70 6-40 6-40
Soybe
an
4- 0.31
-0.
2-3 0.4
-2
0.2-
0.
0-20 30-200 2-0 2-60 8-20
Alfalfa 3-
4.
0.2
-0.
2.-
3.8
1-
2.
0.3-
0.8
0-20 2-100 2-70 6-20 30-80
O It is also important to note tree factors wen taking tissue
samples for analysis:
1. It is critical tat te correct plant part be sampled.
or corn, you need to take te ear-leaf.
or soybean, you need to take recently matured
trifoliate.
or alfalfa, you need to take te upper tird of te
plant.
2. %e plant must be sampled at te specific stage of growt.
or corn, sampling is done at tasseling.
or soybean, sampling is done at te flowering stage.
or alfalfa, sampling is done at first flower.
3. It must be recognized tat te concentration of one nutrient
may be affected by tat of anoter.
4 It is best to take samples from te best and worse areas of
your field.
So|| Ana|ys|s
O %e soil testing process consists of tree basic steps:
4 $ampling te soil
4 Cemically analyzing te sample
4 Interpreting te analytical result combined wit
recommendations on te kind and amounts of fertilizer to be
applied.
Samp||ng the So||
O %is is not difficult if you follow straigt forward geograpic
sampling metods.
O It is dangerous to simply rely on one sample to represent an entire
field. %ake several, systematically over te field.
O O# produce a composite sample of 1 to 20 randomly scattered
point samples in a field. Mix tese torougly and send a sample of
tis to te lab.
O ou need to consider two items:
1. %e time of te year tat you conduct your sample - seasonal
canges are often observed. Different levels for different
nutrients occur troug te season. or example, K are te
igest in te spring and lowest in late summer. $O sample at
te same time of te year eac time you sample.
2. %e dept to wic te sample is taken - standard dept is te
ploug layer (1-20cm). but nutrient levels vary considerably
between orizons.
O lso, for some tests, timing is linked to te stage of crop growt.
O or example, te Presidedress Nitrate %est for corn is taken from
te upper 30cm wen te corn is about 30cm tall, just in time to
determine N availability wen te crop is entering its period of most
rapid N uptake.
So|| Ana|ys|s
Chem|ca| Ana|ys|s of the Samp|e
O $oil tests attempt to extract from te soil samples amounts of
essential elements tat are correlated wit te nutrients taken up
by plants.
O %e extractions are done by placing a small, measured amount of a
soil in a bottle wit an extracting agent and saking te bottle for a
certain number of minutes. %e amount of te nutrient elements
are te calculated.
O %e most common, and reliable tests, are for pH, K, P, and Mg/
O Micronutrients are sometimes extracted as well as using celate
agents.
O #egional soil labs ave developed specialized tests for teir regions
and procedures most appropriate to teir regions.
nterpret|ng the kesu|ts and kecommendat|onMak|ng
O %is is te most important part of te process.
O $oil test results are merely indices of nutrient-supplying potential;
tey are not guarantees per se.
O ou need to take into consideration practical knowledge of te crop
(and variety) to be grown; te caracteristics of te soil itself; and
oter environmental considerations wen coming up wit
recommendations.
O Management istory and field observations can also elp relate soil
test data to fertilizer needs.
roader Aspects of Iert|||zer 9ract|ce
O ertilizer practice involves many intricate details regarding soils,
plants, and fertilizers.
O Because tese are igly variable it is often difficult to arrive at
generalizations regarding fertilizer use.
O %e initial focus is generally on N in most fertilizer scemes.
O pplications of P and K are made to balance and supplement te N
supply weter tis is from crop residues (especially legumes),
organic wastes or added fertilizers.
O N fertilizer requirements are often determined by field experience.
O en determining N requirements, you need to factor in previous
year applications. %ese are called nitrogen credits.
O inally wen it comes to fertilizers, you need to consider te cost -
is it all wort te cost? ill te revenues from increased yields
offset te iger costs of te fertilizers?