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For media inquiries, contact Caroline Booth Lara, Communications Specialist, (580) 224-6379.
  email: cblara@noble.org.

Banding Phosphorus Fertilizer Increases Production

ARDMORE, Okla. — Banding, the application of fertilizer in a concentrated area, is an efficient and easy way to supply the nutrient phosphorus (P) with small grain seed at planting, according to Wade Thomason, a soil fertility and crops specialist with the Noble Foundation.

"Total P application rates can be decreased by one-third when compared to broadcast [the even application of fertilizer across an area] applications due to the concentration of nutrients in a smaller area," he said. "Banding P can also increase grain and forage yields on acidic soils (pH < 5.5). Liquid and granular phosphorus sources are both equally effective."

One consequence of acidic soils is increased soluble aluminum in the soil solution that can cause decreased uptake of other nutrients, root pruning (shortened roots that do not grow to their normal size/length) and toxicity to plants. In general, soluble aluminum and other elements like manganese and iron react quickly with P fertilizer to produce complexes that precipitate from solution, lowering the concentration and the potential toxicity of these metals.

"By banding P fertilizer with the seed, it is believed that the concentration of toxic aluminum ions in soil solution near the seed can be temporarily reduced, thereby creating a zone where germination and emergence of the wheat plant is favored," Thomason said.

Research at Oklahoma State University shows that when compared to no P application, production of winter wheat forage was doubled when P was banded with the seed at rates of 60 lbs. of P₂O₅ per acre (a little more than 15 gallons of 10-34-0 or 130 lb/ac of 18-46-0) on soils with a pH less than 5.0.

"Setting up a drill to apply liquid N-P fertilizer (10-34-0) is a pretty easy chore. Basic needs are a tank on the tongue of the drill or on the tractor, a pump, nozzle bodies, gauges, restrictors to control the rate, and delivery tubes to place the fertilizer near the openers with the seed," he said.

If you have questions about banding fertilizer, call the Foundation’s Ag Helpline at (580) 224-6500.

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Photos:				Cutlines:
		499 k jpeg		Fertilizer distribution manifold
		426 k jpeg		Electric solenoid and regulator with pressure gauge and roller pump
		295 k jpeg		Fertilizer placement tube

The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a non-profit organization conducting agricultural, forage biotechnological, and plant biology research; providing grants to numerous non-profit charitable, educational and health organizations; and assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs.

To learn more, visit the Noble Foundation Web site at http://www.noble.org.

More news releases available at www.noble.org/Press_Release