Evaluate the alfalfa yield response of various treatments and application timings of MOP, an MOP + Granular B blend, and Aspire®.
Evaluate the yield response to Aspire® (0-0-58-0.5B) compared to MOP (0-0-60).
Evaluate the yield response to Aspire® with Boron (0-0-58-0.5B) compared to MOP (0-0-60).
Boron is a micronutrient critical to the growth and health of all crops. It is a component of plant cell walls and reproductive structures. Boron can be found in soil solution, adsorbed to soil surfaces, organic matter, and is part of soil mineralogy. Boron is a mobile nutrient, meaning that it is prone to movement within the soil.
Required by all plant life, potassium (K) plays a major role in photosynthesis, breakdown of carbohydrates, protein synthesis and disease resistance. Most importantly, it can activate at least 80 enzymes that regulate the rates of major plant growth reactions. The aforementioned activities should all occur in-season, but what can be done to ensure a crop has the proper levels of K to carry out these functions? And should the applications be made in the fall or spring?
After each cutting of alfalfa, growers around the country are removing not just record yields from their fields, but also much-needed nutrients for future growth. Applying the right fertilizer is key to improving efficiencies and increasing yield consistently and conveniently.
Adequate nutrition all season long is a vital component of high-yield, high-quality forage production. Alfalfa specialists suggest building phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) soil fertility levels to high and liming acidic soils to pH 6.5 to 7.0 prior to the establishment process. Then the alfalfa stand will require special attention to fertility maintenance, frequency of harvest, use of crop protection chemicals, and other practices, for years of high-level production.
Scientists from Arizona State University compared fluid ammonium polyphosphate (10-34-0) applied in irrigation water with granular monoammonium phosphate (MAP) broadcast and irrigated into the soil as phosphorous (P) sources for high-yield alfalfa (eight cuttings per year) and to study movement and availability of P in a calcareous soil.
He knows the land, and the growers. Of course, being so close to the people and the issues has had its hurdles. It has been difficult to make nonemotional recommendations to the families he grew up with. David Schraufnagel says it's also been a little scary to make suggestions that have directly affected the livelihood of people he's known his whole life. But now that he has years under his belt, he's found that being able to support his friends is extremely rewarding.
One of the micronutrients essential for crop health also happens to be one of the most deficient in agriculture: boron (B).