Optimizing nutrient rates and placement for corn and soybean production with strip-tillage has been too much of a guessing game for too long, says Purdue University tillage specialist Tony Vyn. While nearly all commercial strip-till units have the capability of deep-banding, shallow-banding or near-surface zone banding of liquid or dry fertilizers, there has been considerable misinformation on how strip-till supposedly changes optimal crop-nutrient rates. In addition, there are misconceptions regarding the crop safety factor for various nitrogen and potassium fertilizer sources banded at various rates or depths relative to the seed furrow. View

Tony Vyn has participated in research for more than 30 years comparing strip-tilled corn to other tillage systems on different soil types following corn, soybeans and winter wheat. The Purdue University cropping systems and tillage specialist will share how the expanded plantingtime “window” of strip-till and the relative yield performance of strip-till systems have grown as equipment has improved and farmer utilization of precise automatic guidance has grown. View