By Darren Hefty
There are a couple themes we’re hearing loud and clear at our winter workshops so far this year. First, farmers are working to make the best business decisions on which expenses to cut and which on-farm investments to make for 2015. Second, farmers are working to fine-tune their fertility programs, most notably with their in-furrow applications. Here are some tips on what to put in-furrow and how to make it work the best.
FERTILIZER
In corn, the use of in-furrow fertilizer is widespread. Early season plant health and rate of growth improvements are generally noted. Does it always result in higher yields? No, but are there really any “sure things” in agriculture? If your in-furrow fertilizer program has been working for you, that’s great, but here is the number one thing we worry about: TOO MUCH SALT! If you get too much salt in-furrow, moisture can get pulled away from your seed. You can also end up with seed injury or death, as well as the possibility of above-ground damage to your crop. This problem is even worse in a dry spring and/or in lighter soil with low organic matter. At the very most in 30-inch-row corn, we advise 5 pounds of salt per acre. This equals just 3 gallons of 10-34-0 with no micronutrients. In other words, it’s not much high-salt fertilizer.
Here are some things you can do to reduce this risk:
Switch to low-salt fertilizer if you want to increase your rate and/or add micronutrients.
Apply some or all of your fertilizer in a 2 X 2 rather than in-furrow.
Add water. This helps by spreading out the fertilizer and lessening the concentration to improve safety and improving the consistency of flow (less glugging).
FUNGICIDE
Yes, there is fungicide on your treated seed corn, but adding additional fungicide in-furrow like Headline for corn or Priaxor for soybeans has grown quickly in popularity the last couple of years. Benefits have included additional rhizoctonia control, improved root growth and seedling vigor, as well as improved cold tolerance and higher yields.
This year, BASF has changed the use rate to 4 ounces per acre of Headline in-furrow and lowered the net price of Headline. The economics of using fungicide in-furrow may be as good or better than last year! Plus, the new in-furrow corn fungicide Xanthion (Headline + Integral bio-fungicide) only costs about a buck an acre more than Headline.
NOTE: Fungicides and fertilizer likely won’t mix well . Add a Dosatron system to your planter ($800 to $1000) to keep the two products separate and avoid problems. Also, if you’re using Headline, the EC formulation works better than the SC formulation for in-furrow use.
INSECTICIDE
If you’re in a heavy insect pressure area OR are moving away from rootworm Bt traits this year, adding insecticide in-furrow is a must. Keep in mind there is no rescue treatment from seed and root-attacking corn rootworms and wireworms.
The good news is that Capture LFR is really inexpensive and can be used in corn or soybeans. While it doesn’t mix perfectly with every formulation of fertilizer every time, it’s a huge improvement over other liquid insecticides and the way they mix. Of course, dry insecticides like Force and Aztec cost more than Capture LFR and typically provide a slightly higher level of insect control in corn.