Fertilizer Placement and Timing

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Fertilizer Placement and Timing

• Dave Franzen
• NDSU Extension Soil Specialist

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Broadcast- Left on surface Incorporation Band
With seed 2 X 2 Deep band Mid-row band
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Broadcast- Left on surface (FALL or
SPRING) Incorporation (FALL or
SPRING) Band With seed (SPRING) 2 X 2
(SPRING, MAYBE FALL) Deep band (Usually
FALL) Mid-row band (SPRING)
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Fall, Spring, Summer?????
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Fall Application of N and limitations- Fall
application acceptable if - applied at right
time -applied to right soils
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• Right Time???
• Wait to begin NH3 application until-
• Soil temps measured at 4 inch depth
• are 50 degrees or cooler between
• 8 and 10 AM.
• -It is at least October 1

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Once the anhydrous fall date is
reached, Wait- One week for BANDED UREA Two
weeks for BROADCAST UREA
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Broadcast urea should be incorporated by steel
or rain that can move the N into the soil. DO
NOT APPLY UREA TO FROZEN SOIL THAT WILL NOT THAW
UNTIL MUCH LATER!!!!!
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Right Soil??? A soil heavier than a sandy loam
and not a soil that is typically saturated in
the spring.
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Urea-N placement on surface is risky. Agrotain
can delay urease activity about 10
days. Agrotain is the only chemical that has
proven to be practically effective against
urease.
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One under-used method of addressing sandy soils
is side-dress.
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Wetter, heavier soils are more difficult to
side-dress. Sometimes it is hard to reenter the
field. Sometimes the fertilizer will not seal.
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In wetter soils, a preplant spring or fall
application may be the only practical method of
applying N, but N rate will need to increased
20-30 lb/a over book recommendations.
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Mid-row band- N goes in between seed rows on
solid- seeded crop. P is placed with
seed. Dont put N and P together in the
mid-row if you want a starter effect.
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Mid-row band set-up (courtesy of Bourgault
Industries)
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• Strip-till
• Banded N/P/K applied in the fall
• directly below future seeding of
• crop.
• N should be separated from future seed by
• at least 3 inches if ammonia, 1 inch if other
• -for starter effect, P and K should be no
• more than 2 inches away from future seed.

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Courtesy of University of Illinois Extension
Service- used with permission
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Courtesy of University of Illinois Extension
Service- used with permission
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Phosphorus- Efficiency is increased greatly
with banding. Soil minerals tie up P rapidly
after application into forms that are slowly to
relatively non-available to plants. Most P
uptake is the result of diffusion.
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P need not be placed with the seed for greatest
efficiency- just near the seed. Agronomically,
most crops yield best when seed and fertilizer
are separated by some small distance.
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Wheat yield increase from broadcast or Banded P.
Average of six sites, Zubriski,
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Banded P vs Broadcast in Wheat, Rasc, MB.
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Banded vs Broadcast P in Barley, Bailey, MB
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Broadcast vs banded with seed, vs banded near
seed in Canola Rasc, MB
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Broadcast vs bands in Corn, Nebraska G. Rehm,
1986
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Relative value of banded P compared to broadcast
P required to achieve similar yields, Illinois-
Welch et al., 1966.
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Soybean response to broadcast vs banded P. G.
Rehm, Nebraska. Ave of 3 site-years.