Fertilizer

I check rowed some field corn in this year without using fertilizer. The corn is doing pretty well, but I think it could it could have done better fertilized. I am planting with a JD 290. Does anyone know what fertilizer I should use with this planter? I live in northern IL. and soil is good black dirt. Thanks for any advice, Mark.

(reply to post at 20:49:38 09/04/16)

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Try some triple nineteen.

I plant with a balanced fertilizer and side dress when I
lay my corn by with nitrogen .

I would do a soil test on the ground. Then your local supplier should be able to mix a custom blend to meet your needs. Depending on the test results and what your goals are. I would think there would be plenty of places in your area that could help you out and advise you.

What doubler said. You could be looking at up to 300 pounds per acre banded with the planter plus an additional hundred or more pounds of actual Nitrogen side dressed separately. Ben

Actually I think you are going after things wrong. First you say checkrow. Those planters are not good for fertilizer in checking corn, only in drilling the corn where the seed is every 6-7" apart, not 36-42" as the check wire will put the seed in a clump. Checking would also put the fertilizer way to far away from the plant to do any good or else it would dump way to much right on top of the seed and burn and kill your plant. Either drill the corn instead of checking it or forget about the fertilizer. It will never be a satifactory job in any way you are going to try to do it. The other posters either missed or did not understand check row planting. So the only good advice was get a soil test. The fertilizer is supposed to be put 2" to side and 2" below the seed and unless you have the very rare disk fertilizer opener then that planter will not put the fertilizer where it is needed even if you do try to drill the corn instead of checking it. The common fertilizer placement for that planter was designed for a rate of no more than 200# per acre of 3-12-12 fertilizer, that would be only 50# per acre of a 12-12-12 fertilizer and you could not calibrate the planter for that small amount And todays fertilizer flows way faster than when that planter was designed so with any number of fertilizer you would get a burn and kill the crop amount on if you tried to put any on. I have 4 of those planters setting here in my parts row. That planter was designed back in the 30's and all fertilizer at that time was powered and not granulated like todays fertilizer. If checking you would be better off to when you know where the hills are go out with a bucket and a cup and spread that cup of fertilizer around the hill on top of the ground 8" away from any seedlings that are comming up.

Do you even know what a check row is? If he would try that tripple 19 he would have NO corn to come up as it the way that planter would put it will kill the seed.

Why not apply nh3 when its a foot tall like othere post said checkrow has spread between hills so you are wasting fert in the blank spots drill to fert with planter.

Leroy I spread dry fertilizer over the entire patch , just ahead of the planter and side dress with a bucket and hoe, I assumed if he was checking corn he wasn't afraid to work and didn't want weeds and grass, I have found a hoe to be an asset on sweet corn . I also have my soil tested so I know how much lime and fertilizer it needs per acre . Sorry for any confusion I do realize that dry fertilize in a check row operation is either wasted , my was, or don't do it at all .

This pic is what 100 bu of field corn needs total to grow a crop, and how much gets hauled away by the corn forever.

You need the total amount available for the grain and plant to grow, and you need to replace the amount hauled away. so, if you have poor soils you should pay attention to build your soils up to have the total needed for your corn crop. If you have good fertile soils you onlyneed to replace what gets hauled away by the corn.

If you are getting 250bu yields, just multiply it out.

I'm not totally clear on your question, if you wish to put the fert down with the planter, or spread it out by other means.

Typically you can't put that mich fert down with the planter, it is best to put a little down with the planter maybe 2-3 inches beside the row, and do the bulk of the N in a broadcast application. Or you can broadcast all of it.

More important than fertilizer is soil ph, if your soil is below 6ph, especially if it is near 5ph, lime is far more important than fertilizer. Acid soils tie up the fertilizer and don't let the corn roots pry it loose, so all the fertilizer goes to waste in a low ph soil. If you have high ph like me it's hard to fix, need to manage it some is all you can do.

Paul