Dr. Steve Green

Professor of Soil & Water Conservation|Arkansas State University

2023 Abstract - HEALTHY SOIL RESULTS IN REDUCTION IN CHEMICAL NITROGEN FERTILIZER INPUTS IN CORN PRODUCTION: Fertilizer nitrogen application is a substantial cost in corn production. Opportunities to reduce nitrogen fertilizer application rate will provide greater profitability and reduce excess nitrogen in soils. An on-farm study was conducted at 3 locations in the Arkansas delta region to assess nitrogen fertilizer requirements on fields with a history of minimum tillage combined with winter cover crops. This presentation will discuss the corn yield findings of this study that included seven site years and demonstrated that conservation managed fields don’t require as much chemical nitrogen fertilizer as is recommended on conventionally managed fields.