Foliar Fertilization of Corn in Northeast Iowa

Thumbnail Image
Date
2018-01-01
Authors
Matthews, Jay
Major Professor
Antonio P. Mallarino
Andrew W. Lenssen
Advisor
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Authors
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Organizational Unit
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Department
Agronomy
Abstract

Corn (Zea mays L.) is one of the most widely grown crops in the world and is the largest crop grown in Iowa. In contrast to research on foliar fertilization of soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.), research on foliar fertilization for corn with macronutrients and secondary nutrients has been scarce in Iowa and the upper Midwest region. As corn yields have continued to increase growers have questioned the capacity of the soil to provide all the nutrients needed to maximize corn yield. One solution that has been offered is the application of a foliar fertilizer. As new foliar fertilizer products have come to market, not all of them have been tested for potential effects on corn yield. The objective of this creative component was to study the corn grain yield response to a foliar application of a fluid fertilizer containing a mixture of N, P, K, S, and six micronutrients. The research was conducted in 2015 on three northeast Iowa farmers’ fields. Two fields had no history of manure application, received pre-plant N-P-K fertilization, and the predominant soil series were Clyde silty clay loam and Ostrander loam. The other field received cattle manure and the soil series was Wapsi loam. A nutrient mixture was sprayed to the corn foliage at the V5 to V7 growth stage and a control received no foliar fertilization using a strip trial methodology with six replications. Amounts of N, P2O5, K2O, S, B, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, and Zn applied were 0.54, 0.47, 0.47, 0.03, 0.001, 0.002, 0.003, 0.002, 0.00003, and 0.084 lb/acre, respectively. Foliar fertilization did not influence corn yield at any site when a probability levels of 0.05 was used, but at the site with Wapsi soil and a history of manure application there was a yield decrease from fertilization that was statistically significant at the less rigorous 0.10 probability level.

Comments
Description
Keywords
Citation
DOI
Source
Subject Categories
Copyright
Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2018