As corn harvest is concluding, many farmers are turning their thoughts to preparing for next year's crop. One thought is on how to best apply nitrogen (N) fertilizers to maximize N use efficiency and corn yields. Nitrogen fertilizers can be applied at many times throughout the year including: fall, spring, preplant, at planting, sidedress, or through fertigation.

Corn and soybean harvest continues to move along in Illinois, and as the 2013 crops come off, thoughts turn to fall fertilization. In this article we'll discuss nutrients other than nitrogen. This will be followed soon by an article on nitrogen.

The increase number of acres planted to cover crops has raised questions on nitrogen (N) crediting for the 2014 cropping year. While there are many benefits touted for the use of cover crops, there are a lot of unknowns when determining N credits. This is especially true for mixes with multiple plant species.

A Purdue University study shows that high-yielding, modern corn hybrids take up not only more nitrogen from soil but more micronutrients such as zinc, iron, manganese and copper. Nitrogen fertilizer rates also influence how much of these nutrients are stored in the grain at harvest.

In the chemical age of agriculture that began in the 1960s, potassium chloride (KCl), the common salt often referred to as potash, is widely used as a major fertilizer in the Corn Belt without regard to the huge soil reserves that were once recognized for their fundamental importance to soil fertility.

Strip-tillers who use soil tests to find where essential nutrients are located in the upper soil profile can better optimize fertilizer placement.

This article highlights revisions to Iowa State University (ISU) soil-test interpretations and application guidelines for phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and lime in an update of extension publication PM 1688 "A General Guide for Crop Nutrient and Limestone Recommendations in Iowa."

Like a teacher giving each student individual attention so they reach their full potential, University of Illinois researcher and crop physiologist Fred Below thinks it's important to place nutrients so each and every corn plant can easily access them.

Corn is now in the seed filling growth stages (R2-R5) when nutrient demands are put on plant leaves as the seed kernels develop. At R2 blister stage, approximately 75% of the corn plant’s required nitrogen (N) is in the plant.

One of the first steps in Iowa's water-quality program, cost-share for cover crops, is a hit.