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DETERMINING and using only the needed amount of nitrogen for individual crops will help producers reduce costs and nitrate problems in the environment, said several Uni versity of Nebraska-Lincoln exten sion specialists. Cheap petroleum and high com modity prices caused producers to apply nitrogen in abundance over the past two decades, said Chuck Francis, extension crop specialist, and Dick Wiese, extension soils spe cialist. More recent information about ac tual crop nutrient needs has changed the ideas surrounding nitrogen application. Farmers are now ad vised to consider all sources of nutri ents in the field and adjust applica tions according, they said. This new research is funded from the EXXON oil overcharge money that Nebraska received last year and is administered by the Nebraska Energy Office. Nitrogen fertilizer is considered one of the most important produc tion inputs in cereal crop manage ment in Nebraska, they said. Cer eals use large amounts of nitrogen and yields can be reduced sharply if it is in short supply. A DEMONSTRATION project has been initiated with eastern Nebras ka grain farmers to help determine the nitrogen rates needed. Using careful soil sampling and the calcu lation of fertility actually needed by corn and rey prenoe reduce the variable costs ,Bhatsp 8wae of Warisee is im portant to determine the amount of nitrogen already in the soil before applying more. Using soil analysis results as a guide, farmers can determine how much nitrogen the soil can supply and how much must be added. To further reduce costs, farmers should also consider the benefit of legume crops and nitrogen applied through irrigation. A realistic yield goal, preferably based on the last five years’ average yields, should be made, said the extension specialists. A rule of thumb long used by farm ers for fertilizer application is one and one-quarter pounds of nitrogen for each bushel of expected yield. A farmer seeking a 200-bushel yield would apply 250 pounds of acre. When no soil test is used and other sources are not considered, over fertilization may result in nitrates leaching into the groundwater sup ply and inflated costs of production. A number of myths relate to fertil izer use, said Don Sander, extension soils specialist. ‘‘One myth is that good managers apply more fertilizer. In fact, those who are good managers apply just the needed amounts,”’ Sander said. ‘*Another myth is that you can’t af ford to be short on fertilizer. In fact, there is a need to carefully provide needed fertility for crops, but there are other sources besides the nitro ne fertilizer applied and these need to be calculated into the recom mendations,”* he said. For example, legumes in the crop rotation contribute to the soil fertil ity, for the next cereal crop. When le gumes are included in a sound man agement plan, production costs, energy use in production and the po tential harmful effects to the en vironment can be reduced. Farmers participating in the demonstration project will be com paring results of their conventional application rates and rates deter mined by soil tests and the calcula tions outlined above. Comparison in formation of crop growth and yield will be collected by the farmers and area, county and district extension system specialists. The team hopes to fund practical recommendations which are useful and can be demon strated under farm conditions. Farmers interested in more in formation may contact their local Soommeative Extension Service of fcers.
Newspaper Details
Fairbury Journal News
Fairbury, Nebraska, US
Fri, Jun 10, 1988
Page 16
Full Page
Clipped by
Grace S.
USA 10 Jun 2026
Other Publications Near Fairbury, Nebraska
Jefferson County Journal
The Fairbury News and The Fairbury Gazette
The Fairbury Daily News
The Fairbury Journal
Fairbury Journal News
