Sweet Corn - Liquid Fertilizer & Implement Advice

[the old grind]

A proven coon dog might be a good investment in o'all productivity. (not anti-hunter, are you??) Plan on checking often for damage. If you don't fur-trap, get to know someone who does. Summer pelts aren't good for much, but 'nuisance trapping' is legal in most states year-round (hit 'em hard in regular winter season). Here in MI few things ring that dinner bell to coons quite like sweet corn. They may enter the patch like tunneling into a maze, not so obvious from the perimeter but carving out huge areas once inside. Good luck!

 

[dkhntr04]

You don't want to use the liquid setup on the planter for your total N needs. The planter fertilizer is for starter fertilizer, usually in the 4-5 gallon per acre range to help the plants emerge and get started. Too much N in contact with the seed or in the the seed trench will burn the seed and cause germination problems.

I used liquid on my sweet corn last year with great results. I sidedressed at 8-10" height with 26-0-0. I got the fert for free, so the price was right. All I did was put my 15 gallon 4-wheeler sprayer in the Fel bucket and ran hoses to the back. I Teed the line and ran hose down the cultivator tine that was set closest each row (3" away). I did some simple calculations for speed, amount of N to apply (100 units per acre), and my pump volume. I then diluted the 26-0-0 with water to the right concentration for my speed/volume calcs.

Corn turned out great.

 

[Thowle]

You don't want to use the liquid setup on the planter for your total N needs. The planter fertilizer is for starter fertilizer, usually in the 4-5 gallon per acre range to help the plants emerge and get started. Too much N in contact with the seed or in the the seed trench will burn the seed and cause germination problems.

I used liquid on my sweet corn last year with great results. I sidedressed at 8-10" height with 26-0-0. I got the fert for free, so the price was right. All I did was put my 15 gallon 4-wheeler sprayer in the Fel bucket and ran hoses to the back. I Teed the line and ran hose down the cultivator tine that was set closest each row (3" away). I did some simple calculations for speed, amount of N to apply (100 units per acre), and my pump volume. I then diluted the 26-0-0 with water to the right concentration for my speed/volume calcs.

Corn turned out great.

Great! Sounds like what I will try and do!

Sent from iPad.

 

[blueriver]

pictures

 

[JimRB]

My grandpa farmed I think 80 acres which was enough back in his day to raise a family and retire off of. He would sharpen his hoe when the equipment was too tall to use. He was not a fan of better living via chemicals.

 

[super55]

First off **** your lucky for having such awesome soil test results. Phosphorus and Potassium are right up there and Ph is near perfect for corn.

If it were me I would broadcast 100# of urea 46-0-0 with a shallow till to get it under the soil prior to planting. Urea rapidly dissolves in the atmosphere so it either needs to be worked in the soil or applied prior to a heavy rain. 34-0-0 is good also but it pretty difficult to get since it's ammonium nitrate.

Your fertilizer side dresser won't be needed at planting since the only thing you need is N. Usually a starter fert is used with no N because of the possibility to burn the seedling. If you care to split the fert when the plant is 8-12" tall you can do a side dress with a N fert and it will take off like a rocket.

The one thing corn absolutely loves is Nitrogen and boy does it use a ton of it.

 

[super55]

Sorry forgot to add about weed control.

If this is fallow ground (never farmed before) I would recommend tilling and let the ground sit until weeds start re-emerging and than nail it with glyphosate (roundup). 1-1.5 quarts/acre concentrate is generally what is used with about 15 gal h20 (This is where a sprayer would be nice). Boom sprayers often give more uniform coverage than boomless ones also. This will help knock out a ton of your weeds and give your corn a head start. If you till/plant/than cultivate without having a cover crop in the previous year it is going to be very difficult to distinguish your young corn from grass sprouting.

Once your gets a little established you can run the cultivator. Make sure you keep your rows as straight and as uniform at 30" as possible. Cultivating can be tricky. You might have to do it once or twice no worries. Once the corn gets so tall you can't run the tractor through it is generally mature enough to outcompete the weeds in it.

Also when you harvested all your sweetcorn. Go and plant a cover crop such as red or crimson clover. It will help keep organic % up in the top soil, minimize erosion, keep weeds at bay and can add up to 150# of N back into your soil for next year.

 

[Thowle]

Super55,

Thanks for the awesome information!

The ground has been farmed for the past 2 years (all soy beans).

I've deep tilled it twice already, then took the soil test. Planter and cultivator should be delivered next week (will post pictures then).

I'm seriously considering your advice of broadcasting urea and then shallow-tilling it before I plant. Would it still be beneficial at all for me to include some sort of liquid starter fertilizer at planting? Hate to have the liquid tank on the planter and not use it for something meaningful!

The ground has been tilled, bare dirt, for about a week and a half -- no grass or weeds of any sort on it at this time. If I were to spray the 1-1.5/acre RoundUp, would it cause any ill affects on the sweet corn -- should I choose a RoundUp ready variant in this case?

As for the cover crop, I was planning to do Crimson Clover -- everyone down here at the AG extension office said it's what they use after sweet corn.

The following year in the spring, do I just need to till over the clover to mix it in -- or should I RoundUp it first, wait a while, then till?

Thanks again!

 

[super55]

Super55,

Thanks for the awesome information!

The ground has been farmed for the past 2 years (all soy beans).

I've deep tilled it twice already, then took the soil test. Planter and cultivator should be delivered next week (will post pictures then).

I'm seriously considering your advice of broadcasting urea and then shallow-tilling it before I plant. Would it still be beneficial at all for me to include some sort of liquid starter fertilizer at planting? Hate to have the liquid tank on the planter and not use it for something meaningful!

The ground has been tilled, bare dirt, for about a week and a half -- no grass or weeds of any sort on it at this time. If I were to spray the 1-1.5/acre RoundUp, would it cause any ill affects on the sweet corn -- should I choose a RoundUp ready variant in this case?

As for the cover crop, I was planning to do Crimson Clover -- everyone down here at the AG extension office said it's what they use after sweet corn.

The following year in the spring, do I just need to till over the clover to mix it in -- or should I RoundUp it first, wait a while, then till?

Thanks again!

Thats awesome that is was soy the past two years. It should leave you a pretty clean seed bed as for weeds and soybeans since it's a legume has already added N to the soil from the atmosphere. As with tilling as soon as you turn the soil you introduce an environment ideal for weed germination but since it has been farmed the past two years weed seeds that were already present in the soil should be largely irradicated.

Honestly with the crop rotation and the soil sample I think you could get some very good results without using very much fertilizer at all. If I were you I wouldn't worry about apply fert through the planter. Your P&K on your soil test already show very high which is what the seed utilized during germination so adding more fert at planting would be essentially throwing money away. Don't worry that fertilizer applicator will come in handy eventually in the following years as the phosphorus levels start to deplete from farming.

Heres what I would do if I was in your situation with your given equipment and soil test result.

1. Allow the seedbed to settle and see if weeds start to emerge within about a week after tilling. The seedbed might already be pretty clean and have minimal weeds in it. If weeds do start to emerge plan on spraying it down with roundup. You can plant conventional seeds and apply roundup afterwards BUT IT HAS TO BE BEFORE THE SEEDS SPROUT. If the seeds have sprouted roundup will kill them. Generally it takes corn 7-10 days to emerge from planting with an ideal soil temp of 65-70. Spraying and re-tilling will be counterproductive because seeds that travel by air will readily propagate in the fresh tilled soil and the 71 flex will operate best with a firm seedbed.

2. After your corn has sprouted, cultivation will be the only means of weed control with the exception of some specialty herbicides which are usually marginally effective. At this time you could top dress your corn with N if desired. Two years of soybeans should have incorporated about a 100-125# of N naturally in the soil. I would still try and add about 50# of N per acre. 2 50# bags of urea (46-0-0) will get you pretty close. Just be sure to apply before a good rain so it doesn't dissipate into the atmosphere.



I don't know if this picture attached or not but this will give you a general idea of what you corn is needing based by looking at the leaves.

 

[crowbar032]

Have you given any thought to a IH Cub, 130, 140, Super A tractor with a sidedresser and cultivators (there are probably other similar brand tractors but I'm just more familiar with those). They set up higher and would allow you to cultivate when the corn is taller possibly lessening your herbicide requirements. The sidedresser hopper usually holds about 50 lbs of fertilizer and a tube goes straight down to put the fertilizer right beside the plants. May save a few bucks on fertilizer instead of broadcasting it.