Progress 10/01/05 to 09/30/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Precisely applying fertilizer in-furrow between corn seeds at planting may be a valuable alternative fertilizer placement. Such a placement could provide the benefits of a starter while allowing most of the crop nutrient needs to be applied in-furrow with little germination damage. The objective of this project was to 1) test a precision in-furrow fertilizer placement system for corn. Subsequent objectives will determine the agronomic value of this system. Capstan Ag Systems has developed a prototype system to apply fungicide to seeds at planting. This system was tested in-field and adapted to apply liquid fertilizers in-furrow between corn seed at planting. The project was modified since it was determined the valve on/off cycle capacity was inadequate for fertilizer systems. The modification objectives included 1) Determine the safe level of fertilizer placed with the seed and 2) Determine efficiency of seed placed phosphorus fertilizer with corn as compared to broadcast placement. Dissemination of output results included; six station progress report publications, both paper and web based; six regional meetings to farm advisors, agronomists, and consultants; three newspaper and two magazine articles; numerous newsletter articles that are distributed in-state, regionally and available on the web; a video showing fertilizer placement near the seed presented at several field days and farm shows; a spreadsheet based calculator to determine safe rates of seed-placed fertilizer that is available on two websites; numerous field day and grower meetings discussing results of the above objectives. PARTICIPANTS: Partner organizations - Capstan (T.Kolb), John Deere Co., Collaborators, A. Heuer, B. Berg, H.Woodard. Opportunities for training included the field days, meetings, and regional meetings mentioned above. TARGET AUDIENCES: Crop producers, crop advisors, Ag. Equipment Dealers PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: This project determined that seed injury from fertilizer using this system would occur until a higher capacity valve can be developed. Therefore the objective of the project has changed to: 1) agronomically compare seed-placed fertilizer P to broadcast-placed P for corn.
Impacts
1) Higher capacity liquid fertilizer valves are needed by the industry to safely apply agronomic fertilizer rates between corn seeds. 2) The project findings contributed to development of a spreadsheet based calculator to determine safe rates of seed-placed fertilizer. This work will prevent potential crop stand failures due to over-application of fertilizer placed with the seed. 3) Seed-placement of phosphorus has been found to be from 0 to 100% more efficient than broadcast P for no-till corn. The impact of this finding should encourage banding P fertilizer near the seed.
Publications
- Gelderman, R., J. Gerwing and A. Bly. 2006. Placing urea with seed. Soil PR 06-12. Soil/Water Research, Pl. Sci. Paml. 39, 2006 Brookings: SDAES.
- Bly, A., H. Woodard and B. Pavel. 2006. Influence of starter fertilizer materials and placement on final plant population, V6 dry weight, and grain yield of corn at Brookings, SD. Soil PR 06-27. Soil/Water Research, Pl. Sci. Paml. 39, 2006 Brookings: SDAES.
- Bly, A. and H. Woodard. 2007. Influence of starter fertilizer materials, rates and placement methods on no-till corn grain yield near Brookings, SD. Soil PR 07-15. Soil/Water Research, Pl. Sci. Paml. 39, 2007 Brookings: SDAES.
- Bly, A. and H. Woodard. 2008. Influence of starter fertilizer materials on corn grain yield and foliar applied fertilizer materials on soybean grain yield near Brookings, SD. Soil PR 08-13. Soil/Water Research, Pl. Sci. Paml. 39, 2008 Brookings: SDAES.
- Gelderman, R., A. Bly and A. Heuer. 2009. Influence of phosphorus placement and rate on no-till corn at NE Farm. Soil PR 09-11. Soil/Water Research, Pl. Sci. Paml. 39, 2009 Brookings: SDAES.
- Gelderman, R., A. Bly and R. Berg. 2010. Tillage, phosphorus placement and rate influence on corn near Beresford, SD. Soil/Water Research, (In Press), 2010 Brookings: SDAES.
- Gelderman, R., A. Bly and R. Berg. 2010. Phosphorus placement and rate influence on no-till corn near Beresford, SD. Soil/Water Research, (In Press), 2010 Brookings: SDAES.
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Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Precisely applying fertilizer in-furrow between corn seeds at planting may be a valuable alternative fertilizer placement. Such a placement could provide the benefits of a starter while allowing most of the crop nutrient needs to be applied in-furrow with little germination damage. The objective of this project in the first two years of the five year project is to 1) test a precision in-furrow fertilizer placement system for corn. Subsequent objectives will determine the agronomic value of this system. Capstan Ag Systems has developed a prototype system to apply fungicide to seeds at planting. This system will be tested in-field and adapted to apply liquid fertilizers in-furrow between corn seed at planting. The controller (controls timing and duration of fertilizer pulses) and Capstan PWM valve were mounted on a two row plot planter with JD planting units. A fertilizer pulse from the valve is triggered by the seed sensor and software inputs include planter speed, lag distance and length of fertilizer pulse. Prior field trials indicated corn stand reductions when using this system with a high rate of 28-0-0 fertilizer material. Subsequent measurements indicated a pulse length of 8.1 cm rather than 2.5 cm. This agrees with calculated values considering the valve has 13 cycles/s. Therefore ammonia-forming or high-salt fertilizers may be too close to the seed resulting in germination injury. This was verified with a field study conducted in 2008 using ammonium thiosulfate with the between the seed placement resulting in 9% fewer plants compared to no fertilizer. Therefore the project objective was modified to compare agronomic effectiveness of broadcast P to seed-placed P. A no-till field experiment was conducted with corn using 11-52-0 fertilizer at 0, 22, and 44 kg P2O5 ha-1 either placed directly with the seed or surface broadcast immediately after planting. Phosphorus soil test (Olsen) was 10 ug g-1. Treatments were arranged in a split plot design with placement as the split and rate as the whole plot. Experimental design was a RCB with four replications. The seed placement averaged 314 kg ha-1 more grain than broadcast placement (Pr F=0.08). Corn height at V8 showed a similar trend. A second field study utilizing corn with 10-34-0 fertilizer at five rates was conducted with broadcast or seed placement on both no-till (NT) and conventional tillage (CT). Grain yield was not influenced by phosphorus rate or placement (Olsen soil test was low - medium) even though corn height at V9 was significantly influenced by all main effects and by the interaction of rate and placement. Average corn height at V8 was increased over check by 5.0 cm and 17.5 cm when 67 kg P205 ha-1 was broadcast or seed placed, respectively. PARTICIPANTS: Partner organizations - Capstan (T.Kolb), John Deere Co., Collaborators, A. Heuer, B. Berg, TARGET AUDIENCES: Crop producers, crop advisors, Ag. Equipment Dealers PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: This project determined that seed injury from fertilizer using this system would occur until a higher capacity valve can be developed. Therefore the objective of the project has changed to: 1) agronomically compare seed-placed fertilizer P to broadcast-placed P for corn.
Impacts
1) Precisely placing fertilizer between the seeds has potential to limit seedling injury. 2) A fertilizer valve that can deliver a higher volume and has a greater on/off cycle capacity should reduce germination injury even further. 3) This study contributed to work that estimates safe seed-placed fertilizer rates (see publication below). This work will prevent potential crop stand failures due to over-application of fertilizer placed with the seed.
Publications
- Gelderman, R. 2009. Seed-Placed Fertilizer Decision Aid. http://plantsci.sdstate.edu/soiltest/index.html. Jan. 30, 2009.
- Gelderman, R and A. Bly. 2008. Starter fertilizer rate, type, and precision placement influence on final corn plant stand and grain yield near Brookings SD in 2008. Soil PR 08-18. Soil/Water Research, Pl. Sci. Paml. 39, 2009 Brookings: SDAES.
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Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Precisely applying fertilizer in-furrow between corn seeds at planting may be a valuable alternative fertilizer placement. Such a placement could provide the benefits of a starter while allowing most of the crop nutrient needs to be applied in-furrow with little germination damage. The objective of this project in the first two years of the five year project is to 1) develop a precision in-furrow fertilizer placement system for corn. Subsequent objectives will determine the agronomic value of such a system. Capstan Ag Systems has developed a prototype system to apply fungicide to seeds at planting. This system will be tested in-field and adapted to apply liquid fertilizers in-furrow between corn seed at planting. The controller (controls timing and duration of fertilizer pulses) and Capstan PWM valve were mounted on a two row plot planter with JD planting units. A 69 cm micro-tube (0.20 cm inside diameter) was coupled to the valve and extended to the outlet (about 5.1 cm behind and 3.8 cm above the lower tip of the seed tube) thru a standard stainless steel liquid fertilizer tube. A diaphragm pump supplied the fertilizer to the valve at 4137 hPa. At 0.72 m/s planter speed, the system delivers 0.30 ml/cm of liquid UAN fertilizer. The software program for the controller utilized three inputs for placement of the fertilizer pulse relative to the seed. These were planter speed (PS), lag distance (LD), and length of fertilizer stream (FL) (or duration of valve pulse). The lag refers to the time from detection of a seed by the seed sensor in the drop tube to the time when the valve opens to discharge fertilizer onto the soil. Because planter speed is known, the time can be converted to distance by the software. The controller was set at a PS of 0.72m/s, LD and FL of 30 and 2.5 cm, respectively. Prior field trials indicated corn stand reductions when using this system with a high rate of 28-0-0 fertilizer material. Subsequent measurements indicated a FL of 8.1 cm rather than 2.5 cm. This agrees with calculated values considering the valve has 13 cycles/s. Therefore ammonia-forming or high-salt fertilizers may be too close to the seed resulting in germination injury. A field study was conducted in 2008 on conventional tillage corn to compare between seed (BS) liquid fertilizer placement with continuous flow (CF) placement. A split-split plot was used for the experimental design. Main plot was fertilizer rate (0, 65 kg ha-1), with the first split as fertilizer material of 10-34-0 or 11-14-0-14 S-0.7 Zn. The final split was the application method. Treatment did not influence corn grain yield (mean of 10.9 Mg ha-1) or final plant stand (mean of 76,000 plants ha-1). Two additional treatments of ATS (12-0-0-26S) at 128 kg ha-1 were included in the study and applied by the two placement methods. The ATS decreased stand by almost 12% from the check (a=0.13). ATS with BS placement resulted in about 5000 more plants ha-1 (a=0.06) and 376 kg ha-1 (a=0.12) compared to CF application. PARTICIPANTS: Partner organizations - Capstan (T.Kolb), John Deere Co., Collaborators, L. Haag, B. Berg, TARGET AUDIENCES: producers; crop advisors; fertilizer dealers and manufacturers PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
1) Precisely placing fertilizer between the seeds has potential to limit seedling injury. 2) Delivering a shorter length of fertilizer would require a valve with a greater on/off cycle capacity and should reduce fertilizer injury even more. 3) This study contributed to work that estimates safe seed-placed fertilizer rates (see publication below). This work will prevent potential crop stand failures due to over-application of fertilizer placed with the seed.
Publications
- Gelderman, R. 2009. Seed-Placed Fertilizer Decision Aid. http://plantsci.sdstate.edu/soiltest/index.html. Jan. 30, 2009.
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Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Precisely placing fertilizer in-furrow between corn seeds at planting may be a valuable alternative fertilizer placement. Such a placement could provide the benefits of a starter while allowing most of the crop nutrient needs to be applied in-furrow with little germination damage. The objective of this project in the first two years of the five year project is to 1) develop a precision in-furrow fertilizer placement system for corn. Subsequent objectives will determine the agronomic value of such a system. Capstan Ag Systems has developed a prototype system to apply fungicide to seeds at planting. This system will be tested in-field and adapted to apply liquid fertilizers in-furrow between corn seed at planting. The controller (controls timing and duration of fertilizer pulses) and Capstan PWM valve were mounted on a two row plot planter with JD planting units. A 69 cm micro-tube (0.20 cm inside diameter) was coupled to the valve and extended to the outlet (about 5.1 cm
behind and 3.8 cm above the lower tip of the seed tube) thru a standard stainless steel liquid fertilizer tube. A diaphragm pump supplied the fertilizer to the valve at 4137 hPa. At 0.72 m/s planter speed, the system was delivering 0.30 ml/cm of liquid UAN fertilizer. The software program for the controller utilized three inputs for placement of the fertilizer pulse relative to the seed. These were planter speed (PS), length of fertilizer stream (FL) (or duration of valve pulse), and lag distance (LD). The lag refers to the time from detection of a seed by the seed sensor in the drop tube to the time when the valve opens to discharge fertilizer onto the soil. Because planter speed is known, the time can be converted to distance by the software. Prior field trials indicated corn stand reductions when using this system with a high rate of 28-0-0 fertilizer material. Subsequent laboratory work indicated this rate could be applied on both sides of the seed at 1 inch distance with no
seedling injury. Fertilizer (10-34-0) and seed were dyed pink and green, respectively. The software system was set at a PS of 0.72m/s, LD and FL of 30 and 2.5 cm, respectively. Visual observation of the planter on a hard surface indicated minimal seed bounce and fertilizer stream was being placed in approximately the middle of the seed interval (75,000 seeds/ha). A small wireless camera was mounted behind the fertilizer tube. The signal was captured on a remote TV/ VCR recorder. Subsequent time measurements of the recorded fertilizer stream indicated a FL of 8.1 cm rather than 2.5 cm. This agrees with calculated values considering the valve has 13 cycles/s. In addition, measurements (using the recordings with the above settings) showed the fertilizer stream was being placed in the middle of the seed interval.
PARTICIPANTS: Partner organizations - Capstan (T.Kolb), John Deere Co., Collaborators, L. Haag, B. Berg,
TARGET AUDIENCES: Corn producers, crop advisors including County educators, private agronomists and independent crop consultants.
Impacts
These outcomes will facilitate the agronomic evaluation of the delivery system. 1) The fertilizer length parameter for the starter valve/delivery system set at 2.5 cm actually delivers a length of 8.1 cm. 2) Delivering a shorter length of fertilizer would require a valve with a greater on/off cycle capacity. 3) The starter valve/delivery system was applying liquid fertilizer in approximately the middle of the seed interval with a lag setting of 30 cm. A video showing the delivery system working in an operating corn planter was produced.
Publications
- Gelderman, R., D Humburg, and A. Bly. 2006. Precision Fertilizer Placement within the Corn Row. Soil PR 06-13. Soil/Water Research, Pl. Sci. Paml. 30 (Revised 2007). Brookings: SDAES
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
Precisely placing fertilizer in-furrow between corn seeds at planting may be a valuable alternative fertilizer placement. Such a placement could provide the benefits of a starter while allowing most of the crop nutrient needs to be applied in-furrow with little germination damage. The objective of this project in the first two years of the five year project is to 1) develop a precision in-furrow fertilizer placement system for corn. Subsequent objectives will determine the agronomic value of such a system. Capstan Ag Systems has developed a prototype system to apply fungicide to seeds at planting. This system will be tested in-field and adapted to apply liquid fertilizers in-furrow between corn seed at planting. The controller (controls timing and duration of fertilizer pulses) and Capstan PWM valve were mounted on a two row plot planter with JD planting units. A 69 cm micro-tube (0.20 cm inside diameter) was coupled to the valve and extended to the outlet (about 5.1
cm behind and 3.8 cm above the lower tip of the seed tube) thru a standard stainless steel liquid fertilizer tube. A diaphragm pump supplied the fertilizer to the valve at 4137 hPa. At 0.72 m/s planter speed, the system was delivering 0.30 ml/cm of liquid UAN fertilizer. The software program for the controller utilized three inputs for placement of the fertilizer pulse relative to the seed. These were planter speed, length of fertilizer stream (or duration of valve pulse), and lag distance. The lag refers to the time from detection of a seed by the seed sensor in the drop tube to the time when the valve opens to discharge fertilizer onto the soil. Because planter speed is known, the time can be converted to distance by the software. A population of 57,500 (23.1 cm interval between seeds) and 98,800 (13.2 cm interval) seeds/ha were used in the study with lag distances of 31.8 and 21.6 cm, respectively. The lengths of fertilizer stream were used as a treatment and were 2.5, 7.6, 12.7,
17.8, and 23.1 cm for the 57,500 treatment. Fertilizer lengths of 2.5, 7.6, and 13.2 cm were used for the 98,800 treatment. The position of the fertilizer stream (centered between seeds) did not appear to be influenced by length of fertilizer stream. Treatments were arranged in an incomplete split-plot design (four replications) with population as the main plot and fertilizer distance as the split. Emerged plants were counted on a 10 foot section of a 50 foot single row plot. Final plant stands [as a percent of check (no fertilizer] were 69, 21, 10, 11, and 2 % for the 2.5, 7.6, 12.7, 17.8, and 23.1 cm fertilizer lengths, respectively at the 57,500 seed population. Stands for the 98,800 seed population were 53, 16, and 0 % for the 2.5, 7.6, and 13.2 cm treatments. The final stands were lower than expected and could be due to placement and or rate problems. Additional work will be completed in the laboratory and the field to determine the problem and necessary corrections.
Impacts
Precisely placing fertilizer in-furrow between corn seeds at planting may be a valuable alternative fertilizer placement. Such a placement could provide the benefits of a starter fertilizer while applying most of the crop nutrient needs at planting with little germination damage to the planted seed.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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