Where should your money go? What’s the best way to get the most out of your plan? Where can you save, and where should you spend? And…what’s the weather going to be?
Growers are always trying to maintain a balance, and every season is different. A grower can carefully build a pre-plant fertility program based on perfect soil samples, only for severe weather or disease to change the plan.
This is why there’s always a question about in-season fertilizer applications. Is applying nutrients during growth stages a good investment in crop performance, or is it an unnecessary expense?
To figure out the ROI, growers can look at nutrient timing and crop development.
Plants need more than what they get just in the first few weeks. As crops move into different stages, they have increased daily demand for nutrients. In-season applications help by delivering nutrition exactly when demand reaches its peak.
So yes! It’s a smart investment. Let’s see why:
Economic and agronomic benefits of in-season nutrition
Splitting nutrient applications allows growers to manage variables and what’s happening with the crop:
- Nutrients
Putting all nutrients down in the spring increases the risk of loss. Nitrogen can leach through the soil profile or go into the atmosphere. Heavy early rains can carry away valuable inputs. In-season applications reduce this exposure window, so you can be sure that a higher percentage of the applied fertilizer actually enters the plant rather than being lost.
- Soil fixation
Certain soils tend to tie up nutrients like phosphorus and micronutrients. By applying liquid crop nutrition through sidedress, fertigation, or foliar applications during the season, growers can avoid soil lockup in the early season. This keeps the nutrients accessible during growth windows.
- Adapting
As the weather changes, so do yield expectations. If an ideal spring looks like you have great crop potential, you can use an in-season application to make it even better. On the other hand, if you get dry conditions, you can adjust your rates to protect your capital.
- Demand
Of course, different nutrients are required at different times. While early plant development relies heavily on phosphorus, mid-to-late-season growth demands nitrogen and potassium. Applying them through targeted in-season programs works well with the crop’s natural uptake curve.
Using technology to protect your investment
Traditional fertilizer products can carry a risk of leaf burn or quick dissipation. But, AgroLiquid uses proprietary Flavonol Polymer Technology to chelate and encapsulate nutrients. This formulation ensures a slow release that keeps the elements stable in the soil or safely absorbed. Because these products are compatible with other crop protection inputs, growers can easily mix nutrition with standard pest or disease passes, which saves a trip across the field and reduces application costs even more.
Overall, in-season fertilizer applications can help protect your investment and enjoy higher yields during harvest.
Resources
Explore the research and learn how to customize an in-season program for your specific crop goals:
Developing a plant nutrition program
Build a custom fertilizer plan using soil tests and field history to prevent nutrient deficiencies.
Crop nutrition applications: Timing matters
Match fertilizer timing with crop growth stages to prevent nutrient loss and improve uptake.
In-season applications: Corn, soybeans, & wheat
Help yield by applying liquid fertilizer at different growth stages.
5 crop nutrition strategies that maximize your ROI
Use five management habits to increase the financial return on your input investment.
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Ryan Harbison is an AgroLiquid agronomist in the Midwest & Western Canadian regions.