Sidedressing liquid swine (Sus scrofa) manure (LSM) on corn (Zea mays L.) may provide additional time to apply manure and help better match crop-nutrient demand with nutrient supply. A 2-yr, on-farm study was conducted in Minnesota to assess three sidedress nutrient sources-injected LSM via dragline hose, anhydrous ammonia (AA), and urea ammonia nitrate (UAN)-against a non-sidedressed control. At planting, all treatments (including the control) received 46 kg N ha −1 as starter fertilizer. At sidedressing, 157 kg N ha −1 of available N was targeted for application with the different N sources at the fourth leaf collar stage of corn (V4). Sidedressing did not affect plant population compared with the non-sidedressed control in 2018, but sidedressed LSM reduced plant population by 6% relative to the control in 2019, likely due to wet soil conditions and manure injection settings that partially buried plants. In 2018, LSM produced comparable grain yield and net return to sidedressing costs as AA and UAN, despite lower soil ammonium and nitrate levels in the 0-to 15-cm soil layer approximately 12 d after application. In 2019, LSM led to 18-25% lower grain yield than AA and UAN and lower net returns because of a combined plant population reduction and an application of 50 kg plant available N ha −1 less than expected. Sidedressing corn with LSM is a viable alternative to commercial fertilizers, although to realize consistent results, better fine-tuning of application rate, depth, and speed under different soil moisture conditions may be needed. 1 INTRODUCTION Corn and swine production are major components of the agriculture sector in the U.S. Midwest. In 2019, the 12 states that make up this region planted 80% of the United Abbreviations: AA, anhydrous ammonia; DFS, days from sidedressing; LSM, liquid swine manure; PAN, plant available nitrogen; UAN, urea ammonium nitrate This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
Sidedressing corn (Zea mays L.) with liquid manure slurry via a manure hose application system was recently shown to be a viable practice to apply manure to a growing crop. However, little is known about what growth stage different corn hybrids can be dragged with a manure hose before plant population and grain yield is affected. A small-plot field study was conducted in 2019 and 2020 at both Saint Paul and Waseca in Minnesota to evaluate the effect of dragging a manure hose over corn on plant population, grain yield, and grain moisture of two hybrids with different mid-season brittle stalk ratings (Pioneer P0339R and P0306AM). Plots were dragged in both directions along the row with a manure hose from the first through sixth leaf collar growth stages (vegetative [V] growth stage V1 through V6) and compared to a non-dragged control. Plant population, grain yield, and grain moisture were generally not significantly affected by dragging corn between the V1 and V3 (third leaf collar) growth stages. Dragging at V4 reduced plant population and yield by 41% in 1 of 4 site-years, while dragging after V5 significantly reduced yield by 21-79% and in most cases, increased grain moisture. Yield did not differ between hybrids in any site-year except in Waseca 2019 when a July windstorm disproportionately affected hybrid P0306AM more than P0339R. These results suggest that when using a manure drag hose application system to sidedress corn, sidedressing should be completed before V4 to avoid damaging the crop, regardless of hybrid.
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