OCR Text |
Show Fertilizer Use Can Be Very Profitable Investment for Farm Fertilizers can be an aid to higher yields and more profitable crops. Within reasonable limits the total nutrient requirements of the good crop yields are available avail-able to the grower. It must be deteimined what contribution the soil will make toward these total plant food requirements. It Is necessary then to take inventory of what is available in the soil of a particular field in question. Knowing the amount needed and the inventory of what is on hand, it is not difficult to determine the fertilizer in kind and amount to make up soil deficiencies. The field or soil inventory can be accomplished by a soil test. The soil test coupled with a knowledge know-ledge of previous crops grown and any manure applications for the current and past years can pinpoint quite well the supply of nutrients available in the soil. From this, the extra need of nitrogen can be determined to meet the yield goal established. General fertilizer recommenda-can't recommenda-can't possibly be as exact or accurate ac-curate 'as fertilizer recommendations recommenda-tions based on a soil test. The application of needed fertilizers fer-tilizers is not an expense but on investment. From the nutritional standpoint the crop yield is limited lim-ited by the supply or level of the most deficient plant nutrient, which is usually nitrogen or phosphate. phos-phate. It is particularly important to apply the specifically needed fertilizer, fer-tilizer, to the right soils or field. It is particularly important to apply the specifically needed fertilizer fer-tilizer to 'the right soils or field. All commercial, fertilizers are required to be labeled. A chemical analysis is required by law and must be shown on a tag or on a bag of commercial fertilizer. This analysis will give the total nitrogen, nitro-gen, the available phosphate, and the water soluble potash ithat is in the fertilizer. By observing the labels a fertilizer purchaser can tell first if the fertilizer contains the nutrient, or nutrients, he wants, and second the quantity that he will be getting per 100 pounds. In general, the product that has the cheapest cost per pound of N or would be the most convenient to use, would be the one to purchase. ' |