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Show Sprig 81 miIW mm Steps to a King-Size- d Crop Or Grain or Silage Corn Why Not-Hi- FIT YOUR FERTILIZER TO YOUR FARM gh By Paul D. Christensen, Corn Yields Extension Soil Specialist Rex F. Nielson, Associate Professor Utah State University In Utah? 1. Use locally adapted hybrid preparing the seedbed to avoid seed thai Is especially suited to soil compaction. Proper use of produce top yields under high weed control chemicals can elim Utah should rank at the top plant populations and high fer inate costly tillage operations tility programs. Selection of im which cause additional soil com in producing high yields of corn proper seed can make ineffective paction. The fewer times heavy for grain or silage. We have efall other good management prac equipment is on the field, the ficient farmers, good soil, adetices. higher the yield. quate irrigation water, and an 2. Use minumum tillage when 3. Plant early and use pre excellent climate. Sadly, howplant and post emergence herb' ever, average yields in Utah are icides to control weeds. Research far below other states which have has shown that early planting is not been blessed with such favornecessary for high yields. From able growing conditions. During the plants standpoint, early plant- the last five years, Utah has ing makes sense. It allows the produced an average of sixty-tw- o plant to reach maximum size bushels of grain per cornacre, early in the season when temper- and 15.25 tons of silage per acre atures are highest and day length all under irrigation. California, is longest. Many benefits result: on the other hand, produced an earlier maturity and harvest, re- average of 92 bushels of grain duced fall losses, shorter and per cornacre and 19 tons of silsturdier stalks, lower ears, less age per acre. Indiana, a By David R. Walker, state, had a 92 bushel Professor of Plant Science lodging and higher per cent grain. R. L. Smith Therefore, more valuable silage. average last year, and ranked Stand establishment can be more first in the nation. Professor of Soils and difficult. Therefore use high HIGH YEILDS Meteorology, USU quality seed and plant somewhat ARE POSSIBLE Can a satisfactory spray pro thicker to allow for some stand Eight California farmers top200 bushels of corn per acre loss. slow to can be be eliminate ped Early growth developed gram iron deficiency and correct the because of cold, wet soils. High during 1966. A Colorado grower iron chlorosis problems in fruit soil fertility and proper place- harvested 217 bushels per acre orchards? Fruit growers hope so. ment are a must to pop the plant last year. Clyde Hight of Illinois hit the jackpot. The old method of injecting iron out of the ground and get it on citrate or iron phosphate into the the way to top yields. A final He produced over 200 bushels of tree trunk has been used with stand of 21,000 plantsacre for corn on 388 acres recently. Oae field averaged 211 some success on pears, but grain corn and 25,000 plants acre for would corn bushels be silage less involved, less timeconsum per acre, and Hight was near ideal. at of the weatherman the method is mercy desired. ing A special form of iron called 4. Control insects and diseases. since his land isn't irrigated. iron chelates have given some Insects can and do cause prob Several other states have had promising results when applied to lems for Utah corn growers. farmers produce over 200 bushthe. soil. The chelate material Wlreworms, cut worms, mites, els per acre. has been made such that it does corn earworms and aphids are of SET HIGH GOALS FOR YOURSELF not complex with the soil and is prime concern. Modern insecti The first step toward a available for absorption by roots. cides offer control. Fungus dis The first chelate material was eases such as common smut and yield is to set high yield made with synthetic products others are usually no real prob- goals on your farm. Write down what you should be producing manufactured by man. Because lem if proper varieties are plant field by field. Then develop a plan the manufacturing process was so ed. 5. Develop a sound fertility to reach the goal you have set. involved, it resulted in the mater ial being fairly expensive. Re program. This program should be Goals of 150 bushels of grain cently, however, this process has keyed to plant population and the corn and 30 tons of silage are been streamlined and the volume high yield goal you have set. Corn not unreasonable for Utah farmers to shoot at. Remember, if increased such that the price has is a hog for plant food, espec- Scientists Seek Control of Iron Chlorosis THE LEHI FREE PRB38 We can't give general fertili zer recommendations that fit all farms. Soil and farm practices vary too much from farm to farm. It may surprise you to realize that fertilizer needs largely de pend upon your own skin as a farmer. It you manage for high Soil Fertility, 1968 Two methods increase the value of barnyard manure. Hauling it regularly to the field saves nutrients. The soul gains what the manure loses. The second thing is to protect piled manure with a shelter. If you do not have a feeding shed, it will pay to build a shelter. Shed protection can increase the value of a ton of manure by as much as $1.60. The reason for proper care and handling is to save all the liquid possible and reduce rotting to a minimum until the manure a, is mixed into the soil. In feeding pens, good bedding such as straw, old hay, wood shavings, or corn cobs hold the 100-ac- re liquids. Their power to hold water differs. Usually, the finer the material the greater the capacity and the less you need for bedding. It takes about nine pounds of bedding per day for cows, seven to ten pounds for steers, two pounds for hogs, and one pound for sheep. king-sizReduction in crop yield reported by some farmers after they use bulky manure is only temporary. It can be offset by adding fifteen to twenty pounds of nitrogen per acre. The ultimate result is a benefit not only in total nitrogen and phosphate, but is a generous addition to the organic matter and structure of your soil. you produce silage, your yield A ton of fresh manure starts and quality follow along with out with about twenty-fiv- e pounds grain corn yields. of plant food. That value, your county agent says, is certainly ces. There is one brother Greg- worth saving. ory. Delighted grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Jay K. Haws and Rube WaddeU, playing for St. Mr. and Mrs. Horace Hadfield Louis, asked fans to "come out of Lehi. Pleased ents are William Hadfield of Le- and see Rube fan 'em out" by hi, and Mrs. Alice Haws of Salt writing messages on the sidewalks. Lake City. ed Mow-eagu- crop yields, the extra production will require more fertilizer than if your management practices normally result in lower yields. This is simply stating the obvious fact that high yields remove more plant food from the soil than low yields. It is also acknowledging the fact that fertilizer is only of many things that influence crop production. High production requires more than large applications of fertilizer. It also requires skillful, timely operations such as seedbed preparation, planting, irrigating, weed and insect control. Your USU County Extension Agent has information available for average farm conditions. Such guidelines are based on numerous soil tests and field fertilizer experiments. He may help you see where your own conditions require more or less fertilizer than the average recommendations. However, you mast remember that the amount of fertilizer you apply will depend on whether other factors of production are favorable and whether you prefer to use minimum amounts of fertilizer or maximum amounts that make possible the highest yields of obtainable under your conditions. How, When to Apply Fertilizers PHORPHORUS AND POTASH Take a good soil sample. Have it analyzed by a reputable soil testing laboratory. Request a fertilizer recommendation to produce your yield goal. Agood practice is to be broadcast and plow down the amounts recommended from the soil test. In many instances, the phosphorus and potash requirements of the corn crop can be satisfied by banding at planting. MICRONUTRIENTS been reduced considerably. Yet, ially nitrogen. color was evidently improved in the trees receiving soil apth and one- plications of fourth pound Fe 138 per tree But the trees were not nearly as green as those receiving foliar sprays of one and three pounds per 100 gallons of the same ma terial using three sprays of one and three pounds per 100 gallons of the same material using three sprays at weekly intervals, or of Rayplex at Ave pounds per 100 gallons. The Rayplex Iron produced greener leaves earlier than did the Fe 138. We noticed differences between the treated and un treated trees within two or three days after the initial spray. Trees receiving either three sprays of five or ten pounds per 100 gallons of Rayplex iron greened up the trees well. Larger amounts of this material were used since the price per pound is about five times cheaper and we wished to compare the effects of treatments of similar cost. However, there was not much difference between the trees receiving five pounds and those receiving ten pounds. This indicated that the five pounds did about as well as the heavier application. Neither material gave a residual or carry-ov- er effectjtrom one year to the next with either the soil or foliar applications. Possibly if soil treatments were applied a number of years in succession, there would be a carryover effect for a few years. In another experiement only one-ha- lf of some trees were to compare the effect of sprayed sprayed and unsprayed portions of the same tree and to see how much the material would be translocated or moved from one side to another. Very little, if any, translocation occurred between the sprayed and unsprayed one-eigh- parts. When sprayed with Ray- plex Fe the one side was dark green while the other unsprayed side was very pale yellow. Similar results occurred with the Fe 138 treatments, although the color difference was not as striking. We plan to continue these studies for the nert few years to see what changes occur within the trees after continual application of iron. We will collect fruit samples and measure firmness, color, shape, size, sugar and acid content to see what effect the iron treatments have on fruit quality. BABY GIRL ARRIVES FOR H. AND ELAINE HAWS HADFIELD J. pretty Uttle titian haired baby girl arrived March 29, at the Utah Valley Hospital in Pro- vo, for J. H. and Elaine Haws A a Hadfield. Jennefer is the name chosen for the newcomer, who weighed seven pounds and 14 oun- - mam great-grandp- ar :feA act now to turn those dreams into reality! . . .and ahead to harvest time. Let about good yourself dream a little side-dressi- ng side-dressin- If your soil test indicates a high soil PH or lime content, make sure you have an adequate supply of micronutrients, especially zinc. Corn is sensitive to low levels of soil zinc. If corn follows sugar beets in your rotation, and your soil is high in lime, it would be wise to plow down ahead of planting about 10 pounds of actual zinc per acre. Tremendous yield responses have been obtained from zinc on corn. side-dress- ed SUMMARY Utah farmers can reach very high yields of silage or grain corn provided good management practices are used. The secret is to set a high yield goal for every field and then plan a total operating program to achieve that yield for every field and then plan a total operating program to achieve that yield. l:4-03 UJ.ll O (3D O GXD 1 la rlT SALT LAKE 1501 Redwood Road 171 Mtoiw LOGAN Coch Vallty Bank Bldg. Phon. 7J2-63I- 0 484 7631 PROVO 1 350 SpringvUI Phona 0 There's only one reason to fertilize: Perhaps some farmers fertilize so their crops look as good (or are as good) as a neighbor's, or because they want to grow more crops, or even set yield records. But, really, there's only one reason a to increase his grower should fertilize profit. Better looking crops or even higher yields (unless they are profitable) really don't mean much unless they are translated into a higher return on the grower's Your USS Fertilizer dealer can guide you to increased net income through the sound use of fertilizer. Your USS Fertilizer dealer is a specialist in one of the more complicated aspects of soil fertility. Contact him today for latest information on that all important subject: PROFIT. Your USS Fertilizer dealer carries fertilizers, made by United States Steel. top-qualit- y investment. Look a grower can't overlook. crops, high yields, and profit well earned. Yes . . . dream a little. But do more than that. Act now to make those harvest dreams become reality. Fertilize now. It's one job see your USS Fertilizer dealer for soil fertility advice, for expert service, and for tops in fertilizer USS Fertilizers, made by United States Steel. . So today, call or UsS) Fertilizers QSD OGDEN 399-- 1 (53) Fertilizers J QCD 940 Wall Avm Phona J i k 13' ed growers still need a more con venient control than the soil treatment. Spraying seems to of fer the answer. We are testing two materials (Rayplex iron and Fe 138) in both soil and foliar applications Our tests so far have indicated that soil applications are not as effective as spray foliar appli cations in increasing the iron in the leaf or "greening" the tree Both types of treatments were ap plied in late May. In August, leaf STARTER FERTILIZER An application of starter fertilizer containing nitrogen and phosphorus or nitrogen, phosphorus and potash will often get corn off to a fast start on soils which are deficient in these elements. Use a low nitrogen, high phosphorus or a low nitrogen, high phosphorus medium potash mixed fertilizer. NITROGEN FERTILIZER It is impractical to attempt to meet the crops total nitrogen reqiirement with row fertilization at planting. The additional nitorgen requirement of the corn crop can be supplied as a or plowed-dow- n before planting. If your corn is short of g, nitrogen, though too late for additional nitrogen can be added by bubbling anhydrous ammonia into your irrigation water. To insure uniform fertilizer distribution, the water applica- - Thursday. April 4. IMS tion must be carefully controlled. When nitrogen Is the only limiting element, as is true in many western areas, a good method of application Is to plow down about half of the nitrogen fertilizer that the balance sheet shows you need. The remaining portion can be after the corn is six to eight inches tall. Another effective method is to broadcast or plow down all the nitrogen the corn crop will require. By plowing down, the fertilizer is placed deep out of the reach of surface germinating weeds, but ideally located to promote deep root development by corn. Rood i |