Growers who are applying UAN sidedress this season have multiple technologies and practices they can utilize to minimize nitrogen loss to the environment and increase nitrogen efficiency and uptake by the corn crop. Examples include chemical nitrogen stabilizers, cultural Y-drop systems and Extract PBA nutrient release technology, all of which can be used individually or as part of an integrated approach to maximize the benefits of a UAN sidedress application.

Extract PBA is a biocatalyst technology for enhanced nutrient release and mineralization
combined with ammonium thiosulfate, a source of nitrogen and sulfur. By accelerating nutrient mineralization and recycling, Extract PBA can help improve crop growth and vigor, extend nutrient availability to the crop and improve nutrient efficiency when used with UAN sidedress.

How do we know that Extract PBA influences nitrogen availability?

One example comes from research performed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. There, at the West Central Research and Extension Center, Extract PBA was applied at 1 gallon per acre onto fallow soil (absent of a growing crop) with a history of manure applications. Soil testing was then performed on the treated and untreated fallow soil every two weeks for four months to determine nutrient availability and assess soil health. 

Extract PBA increased the availability of all pools of nitrogen, including inorganic and potentially mineralizable N pools, compared to the untreated soil.

Corn undergoes a period of rapid nitrogen uptake after the V8 growth stage and through tassel and silking. If nitrogen is not readily available to the corn plant as it enters this period, it can limit yield potential.

With UAN, this is especially applicable to the urea portion of the fertilizer (comprising 50% of the UAN), which has to be converted into ammonium before the plant can use it. Enhancing a sidedress UAN application with Extract PBA, which accelerates nutrient mineralization and recycling, can ensure that the crop has the nitrogen it needs in that 21-day period of rapid uptake without falling short.

Not all forms of nitrogen in UAN are readily available for crop uptake when applied. How can growers get the most out of every unit of UAN sidedress they apply to help them reach their maximum yield potential?

Watch the on-demand webinar, "How to Enhance UAN Sidedress for Maximum Corn Yields," to learn:

• How to improve the efficiency and efficacy of UAN sidedress applications
  
  
• When growers should apply UAN sidedress for optimal benefits
  
  
• Why biocatalyst and C² technologies are a good fit in sidedress nitrogen programs
  
  
• How Extract PBA and Blackmax 22 can help ensure that applied nitrogen is available during peak crop demand, helping you maximize your UAN sidedress investment

With planting wrapping up, Agricen’s Scott Lay sat down with WITY Radio’s Dennis Michelsen to discuss how Extract PBA can enhance sidedress nitrogen applications.

Dennis - WITY Radio: With the wet spring, I think it makes a product like Extract PBA even more important this year.

Scott - Agricen: With the later planting, advancing the crop through all of its physiological stages from emergence on out is critical. One way we can do that is by increasing nutrient availability with Extract PBA to hasten maturity and move the crop through its growth phases as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

Dennis - WITY Radio: There’s no doubt from the trials that have been done over the years that Extract PBA really does help improve the efficiency of a sidedress application of liquid nitrogen. How and why does this work so well?

Scott - Agricen: By incorporating Extract PBA in a sidedress UAN 28 or 32 application, we’re able to increase the pool of available nitrogen by mineralizing more nutrients that are already in the soil profile—in other words, converting that nitrogen into an inorganic form the plant can use. And our university studies have shown that we’re able to increase the available nitrate levels by about 10 percent with Extract PBA, giving the applied nitrogen a higher level of efficiency.

After planting, there are still important decisions corn growers must make to ensure a good harvest. One key decision is how to manage a sidedress nitrogen application in a way that maximizes N use efficiency and increases yields, particularly during periods of low or declining commodity prices.

When planning a sidedress N application, there are two key points that growers should consider to ensure maximum corn performance and yield:

Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network spoke with Scott Lay about making sidedress applications pay off with Accomplish LM. 

Iowa Agribusiness: Tell me about Accomplish LM.

Lay: Accomplish is a product we've had on the market for several years. It's a fertilizer biocatalyst, which is a product that makes nutrients more available to the plant. It mineralizes nutrients that may otherwise be bound up in the soil, creating a better outcome or yield result in the crop. 

Iowa Agribusiness: Obviously farmers are going to have to put on more nitrogen this year. So this is a supplement to go along with that?

RFD IL Radio Network spoke to Scott Lay about getting the full value out of sidedress nitrogen applications. Below is an excerpt from their conversation.

RFD: Given the wet weather we had earlier this year, is there a question of how much nitrogen growers need to put on their fields?

Lay: The number of additional units of nitrogen needed–if any–is based on the amount of precipitation and type of environmental conditions growers have experienced since planting. Today, we have a number of nitrogen modeling tools that we can use to help make this determination, which makes it more of an exact science than it has been in the past.

Now that growers finally have their corn planted, many are considering adding more nitrogen to their fields. Scott Lay spoke with Hoosier Ag Today about why sidedressing supplemental nitrogen is a positive practice.

Hoosier Ag Today: Our heavy spring rains in Indiana have reduced a lot of the nitrogen that would normally be available for a corn crop this year. Scott Lay, with Loveland Products, says that sidedressing nitrogen is a practice that makes economic and agronomic sense this year.

Lay: Any time you can more closely align your nitrogen application with when the corn plant needs it, you're able to get a better result. In addition, a supplemental application of nitrogen in season is more environmentally sound, because less nitrogen is prone to loss. Given some of the weather this spring, I think it's important that we take a good, hard look at how much nitrogen is available to the growing corn plant, and then ascertain how much nitrogen may be needed.

Although it’s tempting for growers to put out all of their nitrogen early in the season when it’s easier to apply, splitting the application into a pre-plant and a sidedress application can be an effective way to ensure that the corn crop has enough nitrogen to meet its needs at peak demand. This can be especially beneficial in wet years where leaching of pre-plant nitrogen is likely to have occurred.

Below we answer three common questions on corn nitrogen demands and discuss ways to make the most efficient sidedress application.

When does a corn crop need most of its nitrogen?

Growers often want to put nitrogen out early in the season—when it is easier to apply—to get their corn crop “up and going.” However, actual peak nitrogen demand for corn is right before tassel (V10 – V14), continuing on through grain fill. Making a sidedress nitrogen application can be an effective way of making sure the crop has the nitrogen it needs when demand is greatest.