The 2023 growing season was a challenging one in the St. Brieux area. Although spring seeding conditions were as close to perfect as a farmer could ask for, the tap decided to turn off and field conditions became dry for the remainder of the growing season. Even in a dry year though, there were some very interesting results we observed in our trial program.
No two farms are the same. I understand farmers apply fertilizer using different methods that help them maximize their seeding efficiency. The purpose of this article is to show the potential outcomes of different nitrogen application methods. The results from our trials showed some common trends between application methods regardless of crop type. Over the years we’ve compiled a large amount of data looking at urea placed in the mid row vs side-band. In the past few years we’ve included Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers (EEF) in our trials. EEF’s are newer formulations of fertilizer that control fertilizer release or alter reactions to help reduce nutrient loss. We’ve used SuperU and ESN as our two EEF sources for a few years now but, this is the first year we included broadcast urea.
In 2023 we included a very interesting nitrogen source and placement trial. We used urea, SuperU and an ESN blend with urea in a 50:50 ratio as our nitrogen sources. Each nitrogen source was either placed in the mid row or the side-band, which was compared to Urea or SuperU being broadcast prior to seeding. We applied 90 and 140 actual pounds of each nitrogen source in each placement. Treatments were replicated three times in both wheat and canola trials.
We used our 30’ plot drill and leading 7550 tank to apply the broadcast strips. We locked up the openers on our 30’ plot drill and broadcast each nitrogen source through the openers prior to seeding. I was impressed with the distribution of nitrogen granules we got using this broadcast application method. We seeded overtop of the broadcast strips the same day of application.
The wheat plots were seeded May 13-14 and canola plots on May 17-18. Before discussing any of the results, I think it’s important to point out that the only two significant rains we received in the 2023 season came within days after seeding each set of trials.
We have several years of data comparing urea placed in a mid row vs side-band for both wheat and canola. Below are a few graphs showing multi year comparisons of urea placed in a mid row band using a 3320 drill compared to urea placed in the side band using a dual knife drill in canola.
If we use the same dual knife drill that’s equipped with Mid Row Banders® (TriMax™) we can change the placement of urea between the side-band vs the mid row by simply locking up the banders. Below is a 6 year comparison of results in canola.
There’s a slight yield advantage to placing urea in a mid row band compared to a side-band in both canola and wheat. More interesting is the increased plant count achieved by moving the nitrogen further away from the seed in canola. Wheat is more tolerant to urea being placed closer to the seed. We still see an increase in wheat yield by putting urea in the mid row compared to the side-band but because wheat is more tolerant to fertilizer we don’t see the reduction in plant stand by placing urea in the side-band like we see in canola.
So what happens when you want to speed up seeding operations and broadcast urea or SuperU ahead of the drill? The results below show exactly that. The results this year are truly the best case scenario favoring broadcast applications of any fertilizer source. In 2023 the broadcast fertilizer didn’t sit on the soil surface for any length of time before being seeded and getting somewhat incorporated into the soil. Within a day of seeding the wheat and canola trials both received just over an inch of rain which also helps reduce nutrient loss in broadcast applications. Below is a graph of the results from the 2023 canola trials.
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Urea placed in a band in the ground out preformed broadcast applications of both urea or SuperU in wheat and canola trials. There was defi nitely a benefi t to using an EEF product like SuperU over bare urea in a broadcast scenario. Even with the favorable conditions that would have helped to reduce loss from broadcast applications, having your fertilizer placed in the soil at the right depth in a band still performed better than broadcast applications.
The results were even more pronounced in the wheat trials. There was a 4 bushel increase from putting urea in a band vs broadcasting it.
It’s also interesting to evaluate the results of broadcasting an EEF vs placing the same EEF in a band. Below is a comparison of Broadcast SuperU vs SuperU in the side-band. As you can see there’s a benefi t to placing EEF’s in a band rather than broadcasting.
A wise man once told me “stuff costs the same whether it works or not”. The cost of fertilizer is extremely expensive these days. In order to get the biggest bang for your nitrogen fertilizer buck, it’s important to minimize loss. This year, even under best possible conditions, we still experienced nitrogen loss when we broadcast urea and SuperU. Had the urea sat on the soil surface longer before being incorporated or had it not rained an inch right after the urea was broadcast we would have seen even more nitrogen loss and less yield compared to urea treated with a stabilizer or urea placed in a band.
EEF fertilizers, such as SuperU, defi nitely help to minimize nitrogen loss in a broadcast application but they come at a cost. Historically, EEF fertilizers sell for $80-$130/Mt premium to urea. Using an EEF in broadcast applications to minimize nitrogen loss is a good agronomic decision but, it’s clear that the best practice and the most cost effective way to stabilize your nitrogen fertilizer is to place it in a band at the correct depth.
When I was younger I always thought it would be cool to be in a band. Well it turns out nitrogen fertilizer prefers to be in a band as well. Yield results support the use of mid row band and side-band applications of urea over broadcast applications period.
We will continue this Source and Placement trial in 2024. I think it’s important for farmers to have as much information so they can make informed decisions regarding farming practices. For those interested in exploring all our trial results, check out the Bourgault.com website under the agronomy tab.
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By Jeff Strukoff, PAg, Farm Manager & Agronomist
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