ollie989898
Member
Not been easy this year. Drilled 1st May, but then so cold and wet it didnt emerge for 3/4 weeks.
The drill missed a few rows I’d starter fertiliser on one field, and the difference was unbelievable
I've said this for years, even with high fertility like you obviously have, maize needs to find phosphate very early in it's life when the seminal roots are busy seeking it out. If it doesn't find it, the whole plant suffers.
I used to sell a proprietary starter blend which included trace elements, zinc, boron etc. The cost difference was negligible over DAP but I reckoned the little bit of insurance was useful.
Phosphate availability is a recognised problem in cold wet soils- I used to see it in barley and even in grass some springs. I would be very hesitant to ever try growing a maize crop with no starter fertiliser in this area.