Maize 2023

[sjt01]

What do you put the last dose on with? A crop duster plane?

Go as late as we dare with a trailed sprayer. Could be combined with eyespot spray

 

[ollie989898]

Put first dose on with spinner then last dose foliar feed at cobbing, which is when it really needs N, but when granular will cause scorching

P indices determine whether starter is needed. We did a test a few years ago before we did our own drilling, contractor was sure it would show up well but could not find it.

Believe me, if there is any kind of stressor on the crop in a given season, you'll be glad that starter fertiliser was there. Maize needs to find phosphate with it's seminal roots very rapidly. I can think of numerous problems with starter fertiliser I have seen and they all made the crop slow to grow on.

I'd say you are wasting your money with nitrogen, very few people around here put any nitrogen on, it all comes from the muck or slurry that has been put on with the bit from the starter DAP helping the plant early on.

 

[sjt01]

Believe me, if there is any kind of stressor on the crop in a given season, you'll be glad that starter fertiliser was there. Maize needs to find phosphate with it's seminal roots very rapidly. I can think of numerous problems with starter fertiliser I have seen and they all made the crop slow to grow on.

I'd say you are wasting your money with nitrogen, very few people around here put any nitrogen on, it all comes from the muck or slurry that has been put on with the bit from the starter DAP helping the plant early on.

We use the MGA nitrogen predictor, and find it works very well. The current research shows there is more soil available N than we used to think, so for some fields we have a zero requirement, others 20 kg which will go on as foliar, and yet others which have not had fym or digestate need quite a bit more.

 

[ollie989898]

We use the MGA nitrogen predictor, and find it works very well. The current research shows there is more soil available N than we used to think, so for some fields we have a zero requirement, others 20 kg which will go on as foliar, and yet others which have not had fym or digestate need quite a bit more.

I have never subscribed to much the MGA publish or say I am afraid. Maybe in the East it is more applicable where it is all great land and dry as a chip. Not really relevant to anything done this side of Swindon. Much of the maize nitrogen requirement guidance (and probably for all crops actually) is hopelessly out of date but there is nothing to replace it with.

I used to remember all the seasonal advice coming from the MGA some years- 'drill deep to ensure seed is put into moisture', etc and it never made any sense to our conditions at the time.

The foliar N on maize thing I am highly sceptical of to say the least. I had customers who did all of the above and more nearly ever season. I also had customers who did not very much of anything besides plant the stuff and spray the weeds out of it. The main difference between a poor crop and a good one was the season.

I also got to walk a lot of maize I did not sell or supply anything for, mostly to satisfy my own interests. I feel there is a certain amount of things foisted on farmers that they probably don't need to do but £££'s talk. That umostart carp to start with, that's a Roger if there ever was one.

 

[Wilberforce]

Last of the Maize going in tonight on the black stuff. Nice reductions of N and Seed Rate for the later drilled stuff. Then again drilled plenty of Maize on Euro Vision Night or Cup Final Day so not really late yet?

 

[ollie989898]

Those vaddy maize drills are quite something.

 

[Scholsey]

the difference plastic makes, been drilled 9 days. First picture shows where a roll of plastic has ended and the difference in plants. Whether it’s worth the extra £140/acre we shall see.

 

[Hampton]

Drilling ours tomorrow. What seed rates are people going at this late?

 

[stablegirl]

 

[Scholsey]

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At the don’t look at it stage! When did you drill that?

 

[JFK’s brain]

Went in 13th we get good rain in June !!

 

[stablegirl]

7th April I think.

 

[Scholsey]

7th April I think.

Was wet as a otters pocket around here then!

 

[jimmer]

 

[jimmer]

 

[frederick]

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Is that fert going down the green pipe and in front the rotovator.

 

[Scholsey]

Last field going in today, what a manic few weeks get ground ready!

 

[O'Reilly]

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I do like the look of that. Is the cultivator a Kuhn as well?

 

[cquick]

Subsoiling and placing DAP, followed by the rake as the soil was a bit plasticine and also knitted together very tightly by the rye roots, so I had to break down the lumps the subsoiler had torn out and level the surface after it pitched off. Then followed on the same row with the drill:

Admittedly it's not a perfect job, but it's not like I'm drilling into a cold April seedbed. How wrong can it go?

 

[jimmer]

Is that fert going down the green pipe and in front the rotovator.

No
It's set up for it, but I have high enough indices to not use snake dust