Dickinson, N.D.-Changes in growing practices, along with higher fertilizer prices, are some of the reasons for research efforts at North Dakota State University to develop new nitrogen recommendations for corn. “The current fertilizer recommendations are more than 35 years old,” explained Roger Ashley, NDSU extension agronomist at the Dickinson Research Center, who is working with Dr. Dave Franzen, NDSU extension soil fertilizer specialist at Fargo. “Corn uses a lot of nitrogen, which is one of the largest inputs needed for growing this crop. In North Dakota fertilizer is 25 to 33 percent of the direct costs of raising the crop.” With funding from the North Dakota Corn Council and other organizations, the study began in 2010 taking in a total of 20 sites, and will go through 2012 in as many or more locations in all regions of the state. Interestingly, two no-till sites have been studied on farms in the southwestern part of the state. Ashley noted that response curves for corn grown on no-till in western and eastern North Dakota, when compared to conventional till corn in eastern areas, are “flatter,” indicating that the increased soil biology under no-till soils may be more active, providing more nitrogen to the crop. He said drier conditions in the western part of the state might affect response as well. “We really need about three years of data to make the information usable,” Ashley said.
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