Sidedressing recommendations: Be cognizant of temp, moisture conditions

University of Minnesota Extension Educator Brad Carlson talks with the Linder Farm Network about sidedressing recommendations.

TRANSCRIPT

Linder Farm Network: Linder Farm Network: It’s time for the AFREC Spotlight, the Agricultural Fertilizer Research and Education Council with University of Minnesota Extension Educator Brad Carlson, Nitrogen Smart Program Coordinator. Brad, what recommendations do you have when it comes to side dressing?

Brad Carlson: Well, I think really the key this year, Linda, is just simply looking at how dry it’s been. You know, typically speaking, we don’t want urea to be laying on the surface for more than a couple of days. Really, I guess typically we’d say like four days max, but sort of dependent on the temperature without a urease inhibitor. And then from there on it, it extends it out to maybe ten days. Again, that’ll get shortened too if it gets a little bit too warm.

So if farmers are top dressing urea right now, be kind of cognizant of that. It’s been pretty dry. The, you know, in general, if you’re able to time that closer into a rainfall, we like to see about a quarter of an inch to get that into the soil to know that it’s it’s safe. Sometimes these light rainfalls, tenth inch or even just these traces can be enough to dissolve the urea, but not really get it into the soil. That’s a threat to loss.

And so, you know, as as this shakes out here over the next couple of weeks, when a lot of the side dress is going to be going on, we do need to be paying close attention to what that weather situation is. Obviously, if you’re able to Colter inject UAN, that will kind of get around that. It’s worth noting that if you’re using Y drops and you’re laying UAN on the surface, maybe not quite as as prone to loss as the urea, but it’s there is urea, it is urea ammonium nitrate. And so it is also prone to loss too. So I guess we’re just gonna have to kind of keep track of the situation and manage as best we can given what the weather’s gonna give us.

Linder Farm Network: Brad Carlson, University of Minnesota Extension Educator. For more information, visit mnsoilfertility.com.