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TAKE THE GUESSWORK OUT OF NITROGEN MANAGEMENT
These comments were made during Beck Ag, Inc. AgTelePanels in August 2014. Wheat and corn growers throughout the Northern Great Plains and retailers in Western Canada discussed the need for nitrogen in crop production, enhanced- efficiency fertilizers and the use of Agrium, Inc. ESN® SMART NITROGEN®.
Maximizing yield and protein content starts with smart nitrogen
management. While nitrogen can deliver a strong return on
investment, it can be challenging to ensure the right amount of
nitrogen is available to the crop when it needs it most.
“Having nitrogen available at the time of rapid growth in the
spring and the summer is key,” said Len Kryzanowski, director of
environmental strategy and the research branch of the Agriculture
Centre in Alberta, Canada. “If it’s in short supply, you run the risk
of reduced yield potential and affecting the quality of the crop.”
How N is Lost or Unavailable for Winter Wheat
Nitrogen loss is usually driven by weather conditions. Nitrate (NO3)
is the primary form of nitrogen that’s taken up by the plant. There
are multiple ways that the nutrient can become unavailable to the
wheat crop:
• Leaching is the loss of soluble NO3 as it moves with excess soil water below the root zone, where it’s unavailable for plant
uptake. Nitrate that moves quickly through the soil profile has potential to enter either groundwater or surface water through tile drainage systems. “Runoff losses can also occur if nitrogen has been surface applied and hasn’t gotten into the soil,” Kryzanowski said.
• Volatilization – when nitrogen is lost as ammonia (NH3) gas.
Nitrogen can be lost in this way from manure and fertilizer products containing urea.
• Denitrification occurs when NO3-N is converted into a gas and
escapes into the atmosphere. The primary N loss mechanism in saturated soils is denitrification, which occurs when soil nitrate N (NO
3-N) is converted to nitrogen gas by soil bacteria.
• Immobilization – Nitrogen is tied up in soil biomass as the organisms decompose organic materials. “This is a temporary loss; it does become available to the crop later on. However, at the time when your crop needs the nitrogen, this loss can be significant in terms of reducing yield potential,” said Kryzanowski.
• Crop removal accounts for a majority of the N that leaves the soil system.
Timely Application isn’t Always Easy
While spring is prime time to apply fertilizer in Kryzanowski’s area,
weather conditions or work schedules sometimes interfere. “You’ve
got some additional decisions to make in terms of trying to get onto
the land and getting all your fertilizer applied and seed planted.
Then fall application has to be looked at seriously,” he said.
For Larry Johnson, a grower from Kremlin, Montana, spring
nitrogen application can be a challenge. “The problem we always
had with our springtime application was getting a timeslot where
the ground was fit, the temperatures were right and the conditions
were right. That’s like a one in five shot in this country.”
The Cost of Replacing Nitrogen
Even if nitrogen is applied, it’s expensive to replace if it’s lost due
to heavy rainfall or other adverse conditions. Johnson says he has
Sponsored by Agrium, Inc.
Source: Montana State University
Effect of Available N on Winter Wheat Yield
Grai
n Yi
eld
(bu/
a)
Soil Nitrate + Fertilizer N (lbs N/a)
0
20
40
60
80
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Yields > 60 bu/a (7)
Yields between 40-60 bu/a (4)
Yields > 40 bu/a (1)
seen nitrogen losses up to 50 percent in his area. “When we have
to make another trip across the field to replace nitrogen and put
another $15-20 an acre out there that could have been taken care
with a fall application, it gets expensive fast.”
A Nitrogen Management Solution: Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizer
There are proven ways to maximize the amount of nitrogen that’s
available to wheat and corn. Enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEF)
allow increased plant uptake and reduce the potential for nutrient
loss through leaching, runoff or volatilization, according
to Kryzanowski.
ESN® SMART NITROGEN®, an EEF available from Agrium, Inc.,
uses a flexible, micro-thin polymer coating to control the release
of nitrogen into the soil. ESN allows the plant to increase its
uptake of fertilizer while reducing the potential of nutrient losses
to the environment.
The polymer coating surrounds soluble urea, explained Dr. Alan
Blaylock, agronomy manager with Agrium. “Once water gets
inside the coating, it dissolves the urea granule. Then the urea will
be diffused out through the coating.”
How ESN Technology Works
When ESN comes in contact with soil moisture, water diffuses
through the membrane, dissolving the urea inside. This solution
gradually diffuses out of the coating into the soil. The rate of this
process is controlled by soil temperature. When the soil is cold and
the crop is growing slowly, very little urea solution diffuses across
the membrane. As temperatures start to climb and stay warm
enough for wheat to grow, ESN releases urea faster when the crop
can utilize it most effectively.
Nitrogen release coincides with the nutrient demands of the
crop. “We’re supplying N at the time that’s most appropriate for
crop demand, and we’re protecting the nitrogen that’s not being
used yet,” said Blaylock. “This gives us better performance of the
fertilizer we put out there, which translates to higher yields, better
grain quality and higher protein.”
These advantages motivated Montana grower Rick Anderson to
use ESN. “We wanted to cut down on the amount of trips across
the field and reduce our application expenses,” said Anderson,
who raises winter wheat, spring wheat and barley near Ft. Benton.
“We also wanted to reduce the potential of leaching and nitrates
getting into the water.”
Larry Johnson has seen positive ESN results with tissue tests
conducted in his area throughout the growing season. “ESN works
off the temperature of the soil so it couples itself right with the
plants and is available when the plants need it. The other products
we used prior to ESN were all or nothing right from the start.”
ESN Offers Flexible Application
Michelle Botsford, a retailer with Custom Crop Care in Conrad,
Montana, said the application flexibility of ESN benefits growers in
her area. “Mother Nature allows us a very limited amount of time
in the spring. Once it warms up, there are more acres to cover
Water moves in through the
coating
N dissolves into solution inside the
granule
Into soil solution
N moves out through the
polymerSource: Agrium, Inc.
Early = last week Sept.; Late = last week Oct; Average of 4 N rates 30, 60, 90 and 120 kg N/ha. Includes dryland and irrigated spring-planted wheat, barley and triticale. Average of side-band applications for 8 site years in So. Alberta. Source: Dr. Ross McKenzie, Univ of Alberta
100
110
125
Sprin
g Ce
real
Yie
ld (b
u/ac
re)
ESNUrea
120123
121
125
115
105
120
130
Early Fall Band Late Fall Band
ESN is the Smart Nitrogen Choice for Fall N Applications for Spring-Seeded Cereals
than there is time,” she said. “Any time you can split the time that
you’re out in the field working and not try to force it all into one
small period, that’s a huge benefit.”
This flexibility offers growers peace of mind, Dr. Blaylock added.
“With a conventional nitrogen source, we need the nitrogen
applied as close to plant uptake as possible to help protect the
nitrogen. As a result, we run the risk of being too late, not getting
it on and then we suffer yield losses,” he said. “When nitrogen is
protected with ESN, we can apply the nitrogen over quite a long
period of time and still get excellent performance because it’s
preventing that loss.”
Safe for the Crop and Easy to Handle
Johnson said he doesn’t have the same crop safety concerns with
ESN as he would with using higher rates of urea. “ESN is a real safe
product and that’s some of the driving force for us using it,” he said.
ESN also works well for growers who prefer to apply nitrogen in the
seed row. Unlike traditional fertilizer, ESN doesn’t add soluble salts
that can damage plants. Also, there’s no need to worry about the
conversion of nitrogen to large amounts of free ammonia in the soil,
which can be toxic to seedlings if rates aren’t monitored very carefully.
“It’s not going to burn the seed when it’s down there next to the
seed, right where it needs to be,” said Botsford. “It’s a really nice
insurance policy to have that fertilizer where it’s supposed to be
and used in the way it’s supposed to be used.”
“Thanks to ESN’s polymer coating, seedlings are only exposed
to a little bit of nitrogen at a time, which gives us a much greater
margin of safety,” Blaylock said.
Johnson added that he has had success storing ESN for two years
on his farm. “It stores wonderfully and flows easily,” he said.
ESN Protects Winter Wheat Yield & Profitability
In these times of volatile commodity prices, growers are looking
for ways to maximize yields and get the greatest return on their
input investments.
“Our growers who use ESN see a higher bushel potential and
a higher grain quality,” said Botsford. “I can’t think of a single
customer who has been docked because of protein issues when
they’ve used ESN.”
Larry Johnson said he uses ESN to keep his protein content level
consistent and above 12 percent. “The protein of our entire winter
wheat crop has leveled out with ESN. It’s very rare for us to get a
half percent difference in protein content from one field to the next
and that’s important to us,” he said.
Average of three N rates(60, 90, & 120 lbs N/ac) and two locations Source: Dr. S Ebelhar, University of Illinois
Late-MarFeekes 5.0
Mid-FebFeekes 3.0
ESN
Wheat Yield (bu/acre)807055 65 756050
Urea
ESN
2/3ESN 1/3UreaUrea
UAN
2/3Urea 1/3ESN
Urea
UAN
Mid-Jandormant
70
73
76
61
6268
69
66
70
ESN Wheat Yields and Application Flexibility
ESN Increases Spring Wheat Protein
Whe
at G
rain
Pro
tein
(%)
10.0
10.5
11.5
11.0
12.0
12.5
13.0
100 75 50
11.9
12.8
11.5
25 0
11.6
12.6
11.4
12.4
Percentage of Total N as ESN
Data are means of four site years. All N applied at planting. Yield did not differ signi�cantly among treatments. Average yield was 109 bu/acre.Source: Dr. A Sims, Univ of Minnesota-NWROC, Crookston, MN, 2008-09
11.9
12.8 12.8
120 lbs N/acre60 lbs N/acre
“ESN fi ts into a wide range of existing fertilizer programs. Fall
applications can include 100 percent ESN,” said Blaylock, who has
researched the product for 15 years. “If we’re applying nitrogen
on actively growing wheat in the spring, however, it’s good to
blend ESN with urea or ammonium sulfate in a proportion that will
provide the nitrogen the crop needs immediately, while ESN will
help feed the crop through the growing season.”
Multiple university studies across North America prove that ESN
is a consistent product that enhances nitrogen use effi ciency on a
variety of crops, especially winter wheat and corn.
That is good news for Anderson. “I have three years of experience
with ESN and it seems to be an economically good product. I don’t
seem to have any yellowing of my plants and it seems to do what
they say it will do. I’m going to use it again this fall,” he said.
“ESN is by far the most effi cient form of nitrogen I’ve found,”
said Botsford. “We’re an independent retailer and don’t have the
luxury of recommending the same old thing year after year so
we always have to keep our eye out for the best product for our
customers. We found ESN about 10 years ago and we’ve stuck
with it because it works better than anything else that we’ve tried
along the way.”
For Additional ESN Information
www.smartnitrogen.com; ESN Customer Service 1-800-403-2861
North Dakota and Minnesota:Kent Broscoff: (763) 248-3452 [email protected]
Montana:Todd Latimer: (303) 804-4422 [email protected]
South Dakota and Nebraska:Bryan Guipre: (785) 392-7525 [email protected]
Manitoba and Eastern Saskatchewan: Jaime Rozdeba: (204) 365-6463 [email protected]
Alberta and Western Saskatchewan: James Alexander: (403) 887-0782 [email protected]
** EEFs qualify for water quality incentives. To see if you can earn the incentive and learn more about specifi c guidelines, visit your local NRCS offi ce. As a result of its environmental benefi ts, ESN technology is eligible for government incentives through a National Conservation Stewardship Program as well as some Environmental Quality Incentives Programs (U.S. only). For more information, visit www.smartnitrogen.com.
Always read and follow label directions. ESN is a registered trademark owned by Agrium, Inc. Beck Ag is a leader in facilitating peer-to-peer conversations and providing convenient access to experts – allowing ag industry professionals the opportunity to learn about products, innovative technologies and business practices.
© 2014 Beck Ag
60
40
20
ESN Increases Winter Wheat Yields and Profit
Whe
at Y
ield
(bu/
acre
) or
Pro�
t Inc
reas
e ($
/acr
e)
0Yield $5/bu $7/bu
3844
$24
$32$36
$49ESN/UreaUrea47
Wheat Price
• Urea treatment is 20 lbs N/ac w/seed + 40 lbs N/ac BC after seeding
• ESN/Urea is 40 lbs N/ac as ESN w/seed + 20 lbs N/ac as urea BC after seeding
• ESN treatment is 60 lbs N/ac as ESN w/seed
Pro�t increase does not include 0.6% protein increase or additional application cost for split applications. Source: On-farm demonstration at Biggar, SK.
ESN
Pro�t Increase