Agricultural News
Research Shows ESN Smart Nitrogen Fexibility Benefits Growers
Mon, 21 Oct 2013 12:40:49 CDT
Weather and field conditions can present challenges for farmers attempting to apply nitrogen (N) in the spring. However, a new trial in Michigan shows the flexibility of ESN® Smart Nitrogen® can help farmers making applications when conditions are less than optimal.
The trial, conducted in Lansing, Mich., by Dr. Kurt Steinke and Andrew Chomas of Michigan State University, studied fertilization programs on sandy loam soils. Fertilization programs for corn in northern geographies are typically a one- to two-pass program, usually with some combination of N applied up to planting, followed by post-emergence, side-dress application.
ESN can be used as part of a typical two-pass program, or as a single application to apply all of the N needed for the entire growing season in one application.
"Farmers don't have to choose between a pre-plant or top- or side-dress," says Dr. Matt Clover, Agronomist for Agrium Advanced Technologies (AAT). "With ESN, farmers can combine the N-loss protection of side- or top-dress ESN applications with the immediate N availability of a preplant application of conventional fertilizer."
Including ESN as part of the fertilization program protects your N investment, even when conditions are conducive to N loss. Protecting your N investment allows ESN to provide yield benefits, despite 11.3 inches of rain falling in April and May, resulting in late planting and N loss conditions in May and June.
The Michigan study was designed to evaluate ESN for corn in the state, applied either at preplant, planting or side-dress. Some of the research findings include:
-- Pre-plant incorporated applications of 75 percent ESN produced a 9-bushels/acre increase over the next greatest pre-plant treatment.
-- A pre-plant application of 75 percent ESN, 25 percent urea, resulted in a 42-bushels/acre increase over urea alone at the 150 lb N/acre rate.
-- Side-dress treatments that included ESN resulted in yields similar to, or greater than, the best yields produced by pre-plant treatments.
-- Yields produced by treatments at 150 lbs N/acre containing ESN were all greater than the yield produced by urea at the corresponding rate and application time.
-- Applications of at least 50 percent ESN out yielded 100 percent urea by 15 bushels/acre.
ESN, manufactured by AAT, is a controlled-release fertilizer consisting of a quality urea granule within a proprietary polyurethane coating. The polymer coating allows water into the granule, dissolving the N within. The N release from the granule is driven by two factors: temperature and moisture. Increasing temperature drives the rate of N release from the granule. The higher the temperature, the greater the release of N.
"Weather may be the biggest variable for the corn crop, but ESN allows for consistent yields in wet years or dry," says Clover. "In areas of high N loss, ESN can boost yields even more than usual."
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