. Agri-news. Agriculture. When soil test results don't make sense Prolonged summer dryness followed by late summer or early fall moisture can produce a condition known as the "birch effect" resulting in high fall soil nitrogen levels. This effect has been seen on the prairies for decades and can cause problems for producers using soil samples to help make decisions about the following year s crop. "Producers often rely on soil samples as a source of data to help make important cropping decisions," says Doon Pauly. cereal and oilseeds specialist, Alberta Agriculture, Food an
. Agri-news. Agriculture. When soil test results don't make sense Prolonged summer dryness followed by late summer or early fall moisture can produce a condition known as the "birch effect" resulting in high fall soil nitrogen levels. This effect has been seen on the prairies for decades and can cause problems for producers using soil samples to help make decisions about the following year s crop. "Producers often rely on soil samples as a source of data to help make important cropping decisions," says Doon Pauly. cereal and oilseeds specialist, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Ag-Info Centre, Stettlcr. "However, these soil samples may not provide reliable data in birch-effect years. Even in normal or above average crop production years, the birch effect will cause high soil nitrogen levels in the ; Doon says last year was a prime year for the birch effect in .Alberta. The summer of 2002 saw the driest summer on record followed by earlv fall moisture. "Mix that with the high levels of residual fertilizer left behind by the terrible 2002 crop and it's no surprise that we're getting unreliable soil test results coming from samples taken late last ; "Instead of relying on soil test results, crop production records can be used to make sound fertilizer decisions for 2003. The records required are total nitrogen fertilizer additions in 2002. total amount of crop removed from the field (silage or grain), and the protein content of that exported ; says Doon. Doon recommends the following steps be taken to calculate the amount of nitrogen removed from the field. • calculate the dry matter exported from the field. For example, 20 bushels per acre of wheat (60 Ibs/bu) at 14 per cent moisture (86 per cent dry matter) equals 1032 lbs of dry matter per acre (20 X 60 X ) • use the protein level of that crop to calculate the protein exported from the field. For example, if the 1032 lbs of wheat
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