The New Fertilizer Relay: In-Furrow and 2x2 Combo Keeps Corn Happy to Knee-High

For years farmers have focused on banding starter fertilizer 2x2 at planting — 2" over and 2" below the seed. While the process works, Farm Journal Field Agronomist Missy Bauer says delivering nutrition to a plant’s roots sooner might be worth the effort. 

“If we have an opportunity to put fertility a little bit closer, we might be able to pick up a little bit more of that early growth,” she says.

SAFE SPACE FOR SEED

At her B&M Crop Consulting facility in Michigan, Bauer has spent the past three seasons studying technology that can inject fertilizer into the sidewall of the furrow at planting.

“It’s not just dropping it on top of the seed like we would have with a traditional in-furrow system,” Bauer says. “It’s giving me some safe space.”

Too much fertilizer, especially those high in salts, can impact the seed negatively. In her plots, Bauer says they’re using 3 gal. to 4 gal. of 10-34-0 injected into the furrow sidewalls at planting while also keeping the standard 2x2 bands in place. 

The relay system, she says, improves early-season growth and development, resulting in bigger, greener plants.  

“We have been able to advance maturity by seven days,” Bauer says. “It can be a big deal, especially in northern areas or in places that deal with cooler conditions.”

By kick-starting maturity and extending the grain fill period in corn, Bauer says they are seeing strong economic benefits, as well.
“We have three solid years of data, and we’re running about a 9-bu.-per-acre average increase with adding the 3 gal. to 4 gal. with the 
FurrowJet as part of our relay system,” she says. 

Keeping those young corn seedlings fed early with another fertility relay can help plants start fast and run hard all the way through harvest. 

Clinton Griffiths is a TV newsman, turned magazine editor, with a passion for good stories.