Urea or AN for D-D spring crops?

[Jim Bullock]

We have been using urea both pre-drilling and top dressing for spring wheat, oats and linseed but I am beginning to wonder if it's the right choice. Spring crops need to get up and grow and under dry conditions the urea can often sit on the surface before being dissolved by the next rainfall. The situation can be even worse where there is a lot of surface residue after a cover crop. It could be weeks before the plants can take up the N..
Any thoughts?

 

[Kevtherev]

What about liquid N??

 

[Clive]

Think urea is the better product and cheaper, but it really needs to be used as a liquid IMO

 

[SilliamWhale]

I'll be on AS with the drill as a placement and then will follow up with urea after. I feel urea is a good choice for me because it pretty much rains every day

Next year if AN is closer in price to urea then I will possibly go half and half

 

[Rob Holmes]

Urea down the spout with seed

 

[Will Blackburn]

Urea really needs rainfall within 3 days otherwise its being significantly lost to the atmosphere, solid or liquid.

 

[Gong Farmer]

People overestimate the wetting qualities of liquid fertiliser. It's not sufficient to 'wash the fertiliser in'.

Re OP, N for spring cereals can go on at drilling or when tramlines can be seen. Crop can't use N in the meantime, so there's that time at least for N from urea to be made available.

Speed of availability more important in spring oilseeds though so I'd probably agree AN is better with these.

 

[Clive]

People overestimate the wetting qualities of liquid fertiliser. It's not sufficient to 'wash the fertiliser in'.

Re OP, N for spring cereals can go on at drilling or when tramlines can be seen. Crop can't use N in the meantime, so there's that time at least for N from urea to be made available.

Speed of availability more important in spring oilseeds though so I'd probably agree AN is better with these.

it is when you apply in the rain because you cant spray

 

[shakerator]

We have been using urea both pre-drilling and top dressing for spring wheat, oats and linseed but I am beginning to wonder if it's the right choice. Spring crops need to get up and grow and under dry conditions the urea can often sit on the surface before being dissolved by the next rainfall. The situation can be even worse where there is a lot of surface residue after a cover crop. It could be weeks before the plants can take up the N..
Any thoughts?

gone back to AN
just a lot more manageable with unpredictable residue break downs/ lockups/ minerilisations etc

 

[Simon C]

UAN liquid. Hedge your bets with a bit of both and you can do right up to the edge properly.

 

[franklin]

Is there any harm in spreading the urea on a fortnight or so before drilling the crop? As an advocate of urea, I must say that everything spring-sown that had urea vs AN last year was a poor 2nd place.

 

[Simon C]

Is there any harm in spreading the urea on a fortnight or so before drilling the crop? As an advocate of urea, I must say that everything spring-sown that had urea vs AN last year was a poor 2nd place.

I was thinking this afternoon that I will do exactly that, this year. It is hardly going to disappear anywhere, we need at least another 6 inches of rain before any drains start running.

 

[Gong Farmer]

Applying artificial fertilser to uncropped land? Wouldn't a compliance inspector take a dim view?

 

[bobk]

Back on the blue bag this year , found 3 bags of lithan in the back of the shed last year which was easily 3 years old , spread it on mowing ground and the difference was biblical compared to the other fields with 46% , not very scientific but ...

 

[franklin]

Applying artificial fertilser to uncropped land? Wouldn't a compliance inspector take a dim view?

Surely you are all applying it to a cover crop?

 

[franklin]

Cant see the difference between spreading 100kg/ha urea on a fortnight before drilling spring barley in late March, vs folk spreading muck on stubbles in August and ploughing it the next day....for drilling spring barley in March. I reckon there is enough science to justify it, so long as you have checked the weather etc.

 

[rob1]

Cant see the difference between spreading 100kg/ha urea on a fortnight before drilling spring barley in late March, vs folk spreading muck on stubbles in August and ploughing it the next day....for drilling spring barley in March. I reckon there is enough science to justify it, so long as you have checked the weather etc.

I have done that the last few years,half on a fortnight before drilling the rest with after rolling, as its DD in mid april to allow the soil here to dry and warm up I feel the N( urea) needs to be ready and waiting

 

[Clive]

I have done that the last few years,half on a fortnight before drilling the rest with after rolling, as its DD in mid april to allow the soil here to dry and warm up I feel the N( urea) needs to be ready and waiting

I'm not sure I would admit that to a EA inspector

 

[rob1]

I'm not sure I would admit that to a EA inspector

Bound to be wrong in some set of rules,but is it much different from putting AN on after drilling and then getting a downpour or putting loads of slurry on before maize or ploughing ? We are pretty flat sodont get runoff and dolook at the long range forecast to avoid extreme rain

 

[BFSfertilisers]

Put liquid N and P down the spout at planting - much more efficient and effective, and a lot of crops respond to fresh P even when index is medium. Liquid N with P has some immediately available N, as nitrate, while the ammonium and urea components take time to convert to a plant usable form - immediate and slow release all at same time! And NO run-off.