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Show Kitrogen Starved Corn Produces Small Ears lack of Nitrogen May Show Up Early in Crop (Second of Two Articles) The ear of corn and the leaf hvn in the photo below tell a ' lain story of nitrogen starvation. 1 Le soil didn't supply the nitrogen the crop needed, so unmistakable f m are evident on both the ear sn(i the leaf. The ear of this nltrgen-starvei rn is short, but the kernels are 'Vffled and the ear has fair finish. Nature has an uncanny way I regulating the size of the ear to zwsm v r' i'" i'' I lv, 1 match the amount of nitrogen avail-, able when the ears are shooting. This is its insurance for seed another an-other year. When nitrogen is lacking the middle mid-dle ol the leaf turns yellow and dies. Signs of nitrogen starvation can show on the corn any time from the lmee-high stage to maturity. Early hints are skinny stalks and pale green leaves. "Firing" of the low'er leaves is another sign, although it is often mistakenly blamed on drouth. You can add more nitrogen for jour corn in three ways: (1) By having more well-fertilized deep-rooted deep-rooted legumes in the rotation; (2) By using more manure; (3) By using us-ing fertilizer carrying nitrogen. The point to remember is that no matter ;how much nitrogen the corn gets, it cannot build strong roots and stalks and fill out kernels unless it has plenty of phosphate and potash, too. Besides adding nitrogen, well-fed deep-rooted legumes such as alfalfa and sweet clover unlock tightly packed clay soils below the plow layer and let air and water In. |