Agricultural News
Peanut Hay Means Nutrients to Replace in Your Fields
Sun, 28 Aug 2011 16:09:20 CDT
With the continued shortage of hay, peanut producers will most likely be enticed to bale peanut residue after harvest to sell. A simple way to consider the base value of the hay is too consider the amounts of N, P, and K that is removed with the hay. On average, peanut hay will contain 1.7% N, 0.35% P2O5, and 2.1% K2O. Therefore, in one ton of hay you would be removing 34 lb N, 7 lb P2O5, and 42 lb K2O. If we assume fertilizer costs of $0.60 per lb N, $0.55 per lb P2O5, and $0.56 per lb K2O you would be removing $48 worth of nutrients per ton (conservative estimate based on fertilizer prices used). This is a real cost because at some point these nutrients will have to be replaced or yield loss could be incurred from following crops.
Perhaps the greatest value of the peanut residue is carbon. Carbon is the main component of organic matter. Organic matter levels on soils used for peanut production are typically extremely low (<1%) so returning as much carbon as possible to the soil will help maintain soil quality. If you look at it from a simple soil quality standpoint you should leave the residue on the field. However, with hay shortages the pros and cons will have to be closely evaluated.
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