- Author: Mark Lundy
While we don’t have control over when the rain comes, we do have control over how we react to it. If the rain arrives on the wheat’s schedule and you have a crop heading for a big yield, it will have different N requirements than one heading for more a moderate yield if the rain doesn’t cooperate. Splitting N applications in wheat is a somewhat common practice in the Sacramento Valley. However, we might be able to improve on the precision (When? Whether? How much?) of our N splits and our overall N management if we can inform our in-season N application decisions by real-time information from the crop-soil system. N fertilization is such a large proportional cost of wheat production, optimizing N management makes economic sense. It also avoids environmental problems associated with over-application of N such as nitrate leaching. Optimizing N applications are an economic-environmental win-win.
As a result, I’m starting some research across the valley this wheat season that will begin to develop some simple tools that growers and consultants might use in-season to manage their N in a way that adapts to how their particular crop is developing. The more site-specific information we can gather from the crop and soil in a simple, low-cost manner, the more precise our management will become. I’ll be reporting back on the progress of this research as we start figuring out what works and what doesn’t. If there are tools or management approaches that you use and would like to share, please let me know!