Estimating Nutrient Loss from Crop Residue Fires

In spring and during some fall harvests, there can be accidental fires that burn the crop residue from a field or from part of a field. Although corn residue is most suscep¬tible to accidental burning, wheat residue is also vulnerable, and to a lesser extent so is soybean residue. Dry, windy conditions, along with large amounts of residue, provide the conditions for an outbreak of accidental burns. After the fire, the main concern is what was lost in nutrient value, or “What went up in smoke”? This publication discusses nutrient loss from a residue burn, average nutrient levels in residue, how to calculate nutrient economic loss, and other considerations

The Effect of Rate and Source of Nitrogen and Cutting System on Bromegrass

An objective of this research was to study the effects of three N fertilizers, including a slowly available N source, on the growth of a cool-season grass. The effect of cutting systems on the productivity of this grass was also studied to better evaluate the effect of N treatments. Factors examined were: dry matter produced, percent crude protein of the forage, forage mineral composition, and plant nitrogen uptake. Cool-season grass production is influenced by many factors; among these are the stage of growth at harvest and the amount and source of nitrogen (n) fertilizer applied. These factors will be discussed in terms of their effect on forage quantity in the following review

Fertilizer Recommendations Guide

South Dakota State University Soil Testing Lab fertilizer recommendations are based on field research in South Dakota and neighboring states. However, information from outside this region is used where only limited local data was available. The tables were developed as part of continuing cooperation between these states to standardize recommendations across the three-state area. The recommendations in the tables are generated by equations and, therefore, change consistently across yield goals and soil test levels. Due to space limitations, only the recommendations for selected yield goals and the soil test level at the center of each soil test range (very low, low, medium, high, and very high) have been printed in this guide. Where specific yield goals and/or soil test values are not listed in the table, recommendations can be determined by interpolating between the nearest two yield goals and soil test levels. In addition, recommendations for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium also can be calculated using the equations at the bottom of each table. These equations are summarized in Table 3. Recommendations reported by the SDSU Soil Testing Lab are rounded off to the nearest 5 lb per acre

Using Manure as a Nitrogen Fertilizer

Sources of Nitrogen Crops take nitrogen (N) from soil in the nitrate (NO3) or the ammonium (NH4) form. The major sources of these available N forms in soil are fertilizer, soil organic matter, crop residue including legumes, manure, and precipitation. When applying these materials to crops, the only real difference between them is the speed at which they become available to plants. Fertilizer is immediately available to plants as is any inorganic nitrogen such as ammonia (NH3), ammonium (NH4), or nitrate (NO3). Manure usually contains both inorganic and organic N forms. All organic material must be broken down (mineralized) by soil microbial activity which coverts it to the available N forms

Nitrogen Requirements of Crops

Nitrate Nitrogen (NO₃-N) in the top 2 ft of soil is normally used as efficiently by crops as fertilizer nitrogen. Therefore when nitrogen fertilizer recommendations are made, the NO₃-N soil test level is subtracted from the total nitrogen requirement of the crop. The nitrogen required by most crops grown in South Dakota has been determined by extensive field calibration studies over the past 20 years by SDSU soils researchers (Table 1)

Fertilizer Recommendations Guide

This publication provides information on fertilizer recommendations for crops grown in South Dakota. It also includes information on soil micronutrients

Quantities of Plant Nutrients Contained in Crops

When planning your fertilizer or crop residue program, it’s useful to estimate the nutrients that last year’s crop removed from the soil and this year’s crop will need

Fertilizer Facts

This publication provides information on plant nutrients and their effect on plant growth. Fertilizer terms and definitions, sources and forms of common commercial fertilizers, calculating fertilizer rates and cost, and nutrient loss are also explained