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The Value of Pre-Plant Soil Nitrate Testing

By  Mark Lundy

Here's what 8 ppm soil nitrate-N looks like at tillering. The top photo is from a wheat field where the pre-plant NO3-N was 6 ppm in the top foot.

The bottom photo is from an adjacent field with the same soil type, variety, and planting date, but different historical management, where the pre-plant NO3-N was 14 ppm in the top foot.

The extra 32-40 lb of available N per acre predicted by the 8 ppm difference in pre-plant soil NO3-N test can be easily observed in the difference in plant growth and color in the unfertilized  portions of the two fields (outlined in red).

6ppmPreplantNitrate

 

14ppmPreplantNitrate

A nice, visual example of how real-time measurements of the soil/plant environment can help to inform N fertilization decisions.

Source:ucanr.edu


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