In-furrow Starter Fertilization Enhances Growth and Maturity in Early Sweet Corn

Abstract

<jats:p>Field studies were conducted in 1994 and 1995 to evaluate the effects of in-furrow-placed (i.e., applied directly in the seed channel) starter fertilizer on the emergence, maturity, and yield response of early sweet corn. In both years, three starter fertilizer treatments were applied: APP, with N and P at 13 and 19 kg·ha<jats:sup>-1</jats:sup>, respectively (13N—19P kg·ha<jats:sup>-1</jats:sup>), either banded (5 cm below and 5 cm to the side of the seed) or placed in-furrow, and a control (no starter fertilizer). Additionally, in 1995, the rate of APP was increased to supply 26N—38P kg·ha<jats:sup>-1</jats:sup> in combination with either band (5 × 5 cm) or in-furrow placement. Seedling emergence was delayed whenever starter fertilizer was applied with the seed; however, significant reductions (≈21%) in plant stand occurred only at the high rate of in-furrow placement. In both years, all starter treatments had a positive effect on seedling dry-matter production, and hastened silking. In-furrow application of 13N—19P kg·ha<jats:sup>-1</jats:sup> increased marketable ear yields 34% in 1995, but had no effect in 1994. Lack of yield response to the high rate of in-furrow fertilizer in 1995 was primarily a function of reduced stand, as ear number and ear mass per plant, and average ear size were similar to those in the other starter treatments. Based on these results, in-furrow APP at 13N—19P kg·ha<jats:sup>-1</jats:sup> appears to be an effective starter fertilization regime for early sweet corn, comparable in effect to banded 26N—38P kg·ha<jats:sup>-1</jats:sup>. However, high rates of in-furrow APP may reduce stands. Although significant yield response to in-furrow starter fertilizer may not always be realized, the increased early seedling growth may itself be a benefit, since fast-growing seedlings are more likely to be tolerant of adverse environmental conditions than are less vigorous plants. Chemical name used: ammonium polyphosphate (APP).</jats:p>

Nitrogen‐15 evaluation of fertilizer placement at planting for corn production

“…Among the four placement methods investigated in the current project, no significant differences were observed with respect to grain production (Table 4). While this is consistent with the majority of previous studies evaluating starter placement using a single fertilizer mixture (Rehm & Lamb, 2009;Ritchie et al, 1996;Swiader & Shoemaker, 1998;Wortmann et al, 2006), in cases where significant differences have occurred, lower yields have usually been obtained using infurrow placement than with 5 × 5 banding (Ritchie et al, 1996;Swiader & Shoemaker, 1998;Wortmann et al, 2006).…”

“…Subsurface band placement of starter fertilizer can be effective for reducing salt burn and/or NH 3 toxicity that can inhibit germination and early growth, although Swiader and Shoemaker (1998) found no significant difference between in‐furrow and 5 × 5 placement when measuring the total N content of corn seedlings. In the present study, total N recovery at harvest (Table 5) was likewise unaffected by placement at planting, which is not surprising since a much larger quantity of N was subsequently supplied by sidedressing and soil N mineralization.…”

“…In comparative studies to evaluate starter placement, grain yields have sometimes been significantly higher for 5 × 5 banding than for in‐furrow (Swiader & Shoemaker, 1998) or dribble (Riedell et al., 2000) placement, but the predominant finding has been for yield to be unaffected by placement (Howard & Mullen, 1991; Rehm & Lamb, 2009; Robertson et al., 1954; Swiader & Shoemaker, 1998; Walker et al., 1984). Relative to surface broadcasting, significant yield increases have been reported for subsurface banding with either 5 × 5 (Gordon & Whitney, 1995) or midrow (Bandel et al., 1984) placement, although no such increases were reported in other cases (Bandel et al., 1984; Lehrsch et al., 2000; Shapiro et al., 2016).…”

Phenological development and frost risk of ‘Challenger’ sweet corn (Zea mays) in response to phosphorus

“…Instead there were changes in the rates of appearance and expansion of each leaf which may have consequences for the development of the crop canopy's capacity to intercept solar radiation and ultimately, yield. the results of Swiader & Shoemaker (1998) support this hypothesis of a growth limitation on apparent development. In their study, the number of days taken to reach silking was related to the dry mass of individual sweet corn seedlings (at 32 days after planting) that received either starter fertiliser (13 kg N ha -1 and 19 kg P ha -1 ) or no fertiliser.…”

Review on Effect of Phosphorous Fertilizer and Its Availability on Growth and Development of Maize (Zea mays L.)

“…Therefore, fertilizer P is most efficiently used when seed-placed or placed in a band close to the seed. Maize yields were increased with seed-row or side-banded P fertilizer [22].…”