TAKE THE GUESSWORK OUT OF NITROGEN MANAGEMENT

These comments were made during Beck Ag, Inc. AgTelePanels in August 2014. Wheat and corn growers throughout the Northern Great Plains and retailers in Western Canada discussed the need for nitrogen in crop production, enhanced- efficiency fertilizers and the use of Agrium, Inc. ESN® SMART NITROGEN®.

Maximizing yield and protein content starts with smart nitrogen

management. While nitrogen can deliver a strong return on

investment, it can be challenging to ensure the right amount of

nitrogen is available to the crop when it needs it most.

“Having nitrogen available at the time of rapid growth in the

spring and the summer is key,” said Len Kryzanowski, director of

environmental strategy and the research branch of the Agriculture

Centre in Alberta, Canada. “If it’s in short supply, you run the risk

of reduced yield potential and affecting the quality of the crop.”

How N is Lost or Unavailable for Winter Wheat

Nitrogen loss is usually driven by weather conditions. Nitrate (NO3)

is the primary form of nitrogen that’s taken up by the plant. There

are multiple ways that the nutrient can become unavailable to the

wheat crop:

• Leaching is the loss of soluble NO3 as it moves with excess soil water below the root zone, where it’s unavailable for plant

uptake. Nitrate that moves quickly through the soil profile has potential to enter either groundwater or surface water through tile drainage systems. “Runoff losses can also occur if nitrogen has been surface applied and hasn’t gotten into the soil,” Kryzanowski said.

• Volatilization – when nitrogen is lost as ammonia (NH3) gas.

Nitrogen can be lost in this way from manure and fertilizer products containing urea.

• Denitrification occurs when NO3-N is converted into a gas and

escapes into the atmosphere. The primary N loss mechanism in saturated soils is denitrification, which occurs when soil nitrate N (NO

3-N) is converted to nitrogen gas by soil bacteria.

• Immobilization – Nitrogen is tied up in soil biomass as the organisms decompose organic materials. “This is a temporary loss; it does become available to the crop later on. However, at the time when your crop needs the nitrogen, this loss can be significant in terms of reducing yield potential,” said Kryzanowski.

• Crop removal accounts for a majority of the N that leaves the soil system.

Timely Application isn’t Always Easy

While spring is prime time to apply fertilizer in Kryzanowski’s area,

weather conditions or work schedules sometimes interfere. “You’ve

got some additional decisions to make in terms of trying to get onto

the land and getting all your fertilizer applied and seed planted.

Then fall application has to be looked at seriously,” he said.

For Larry Johnson, a grower from Kremlin, Montana, spring

nitrogen application can be a challenge. “The problem we always

had with our springtime application was getting a timeslot where

the ground was fit, the temperatures were right and the conditions

were right. That’s like a one in five shot in this country.”

The Cost of Replacing Nitrogen

Even if nitrogen is applied, it’s expensive to replace if it’s lost due

to heavy rainfall or other adverse conditions. Johnson says he has

Sponsored by Agrium, Inc.

Source: Montana State University

Effect of Available N on Winter Wheat Yield

Grai

n Yi

eld

(bu/

a)

Soil Nitrate + Fertilizer N (lbs N/a)

0

20

40

60

80

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Yields > 60 bu/a (7)

Yields between 40-60 bu/a (4)

Yields > 40 bu/a (1)

seen nitrogen losses up to 50 percent in his area. “When we have

to make another trip across the field to replace nitrogen and put

another $15-20 an acre out there that could have been taken care

with a fall application, it gets expensive fast.”

A Nitrogen Management Solution: Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizer

There are proven ways to maximize the amount of nitrogen that’s

available to wheat and corn. Enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEF)

allow increased plant uptake and reduce the potential for nutrient

loss through leaching, runoff or volatilization, according

to Kryzanowski.

ESN® SMART NITROGEN®, an EEF available from Agrium, Inc.,

uses a flexible, micro-thin polymer coating to control the release

of nitrogen into the soil. ESN allows the plant to increase its

uptake of fertilizer while reducing the potential of nutrient losses

to the environment.

The polymer coating surrounds soluble urea, explained Dr. Alan

Blaylock, agronomy manager with Agrium. “Once water gets

inside the coating, it dissolves the urea granule. Then the urea will

be diffused out through the coating.”

How ESN Technology Works

When ESN comes in contact with soil moisture, water diffuses

through the membrane, dissolving the urea inside. This solution

gradually diffuses out of the coating into the soil. The rate of this

process is controlled by soil temperature. When the soil is cold and

the crop is growing slowly, very little urea solution diffuses across

the membrane. As temperatures start to climb and stay warm

enough for wheat to grow, ESN releases urea faster when the crop

can utilize it most effectively.

Nitrogen release coincides with the nutrient demands of the

crop. “We’re supplying N at the time that’s most appropriate for

crop demand, and we’re protecting the nitrogen that’s not being

used yet,” said Blaylock. “This gives us better performance of the

fertilizer we put out there, which translates to higher yields, better

grain quality and higher protein.”

These advantages motivated Montana grower Rick Anderson to

use ESN. “We wanted to cut down on the amount of trips across

the field and reduce our application expenses,” said Anderson,

who raises winter wheat, spring wheat and barley near Ft. Benton.

“We also wanted to reduce the potential of leaching and nitrates

getting into the water.”

Larry Johnson has seen positive ESN results with tissue tests

conducted in his area throughout the growing season. “ESN works

off the temperature of the soil so it couples itself right with the

plants and is available when the plants need it. The other products

we used prior to ESN were all or nothing right from the start.”

ESN Offers Flexible Application

Michelle Botsford, a retailer with Custom Crop Care in Conrad,

Montana, said the application flexibility of ESN benefits growers in

her area. “Mother Nature allows us a very limited amount of time

in the spring. Once it warms up, there are more acres to cover

Water moves in through the

coating

N dissolves into solution inside the

granule

Into soil solution

N moves out through the

polymerSource: Agrium, Inc.

Early = last week Sept.; Late = last week Oct; Average of 4 N rates 30, 60, 90 and 120 kg N/ha. Includes dryland and irrigated spring-planted wheat, barley and triticale. Average of side-band applications for 8 site years in So. Alberta. Source: Dr. Ross McKenzie, Univ of Alberta

100

110

125

Sprin

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Yie

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ESNUrea

120123

121

125

115

105

120

130

Early Fall Band Late Fall Band

ESN is the Smart Nitrogen Choice for Fall N Applications for Spring-Seeded Cereals

than there is time,” she said. “Any time you can split the time that

you’re out in the field working and not try to force it all into one

small period, that’s a huge benefit.”

This flexibility offers growers peace of mind, Dr. Blaylock added.

“With a conventional nitrogen source, we need the nitrogen

applied as close to plant uptake as possible to help protect the

nitrogen. As a result, we run the risk of being too late, not getting

it on and then we suffer yield losses,” he said. “When nitrogen is

protected with ESN, we can apply the nitrogen over quite a long

period of time and still get excellent performance because it’s

preventing that loss.”

Safe for the Crop and Easy to Handle

Johnson said he doesn’t have the same crop safety concerns with

ESN as he would with using higher rates of urea. “ESN is a real safe

product and that’s some of the driving force for us using it,” he said.

ESN also works well for growers who prefer to apply nitrogen in the

seed row. Unlike traditional fertilizer, ESN doesn’t add soluble salts

that can damage plants. Also, there’s no need to worry about the

conversion of nitrogen to large amounts of free ammonia in the soil,

which can be toxic to seedlings if rates aren’t monitored very carefully.

“It’s not going to burn the seed when it’s down there next to the

seed, right where it needs to be,” said Botsford. “It’s a really nice

insurance policy to have that fertilizer where it’s supposed to be

and used in the way it’s supposed to be used.”

“Thanks to ESN’s polymer coating, seedlings are only exposed

to a little bit of nitrogen at a time, which gives us a much greater

margin of safety,” Blaylock said.

Johnson added that he has had success storing ESN for two years

on his farm. “It stores wonderfully and flows easily,” he said.

ESN Protects Winter Wheat Yield & Profitability

In these times of volatile commodity prices, growers are looking

for ways to maximize yields and get the greatest return on their

input investments.

“Our growers who use ESN see a higher bushel potential and

a higher grain quality,” said Botsford. “I can’t think of a single

customer who has been docked because of protein issues when

they’ve used ESN.”

Larry Johnson said he uses ESN to keep his protein content level

consistent and above 12 percent. “The protein of our entire winter

wheat crop has leveled out with ESN. It’s very rare for us to get a

half percent difference in protein content from one field to the next

and that’s important to us,” he said.

Average of three N rates(60, 90, & 120 lbs N/ac) and two locations Source: Dr. S Ebelhar, University of Illinois

Late-MarFeekes 5.0

Mid-FebFeekes 3.0

ESN

Wheat Yield (bu/acre)807055 65 756050

Urea

ESN

2/3ESN 1/3UreaUrea

UAN

2/3Urea 1/3ESN

Urea

UAN

Mid-Jandormant

70

73

76

61

6268

69

66

70

ESN Wheat Yields and Application Flexibility

ESN Increases Spring Wheat Protein

Whe

at G

rain

Pro

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(%)

10.0

10.5

11.5

11.0

12.0

12.5

13.0

100 75 50

11.9

12.8

11.5

25 0

11.6

12.6

11.4

12.4

Percentage of Total N as ESN

Data are means of four site years. All N applied at planting. Yield did not differ signi�cantly among treatments. Average yield was 109 bu/acre.Source: Dr. A Sims, Univ of Minnesota-NWROC, Crookston, MN, 2008-09

11.9

12.8 12.8

120 lbs N/acre60 lbs N/acre

“ESN fi ts into a wide range of existing fertilizer programs. Fall

applications can include 100 percent ESN,” said Blaylock, who has

researched the product for 15 years. “If we’re applying nitrogen

on actively growing wheat in the spring, however, it’s good to

blend ESN with urea or ammonium sulfate in a proportion that will

provide the nitrogen the crop needs immediately, while ESN will

help feed the crop through the growing season.”

Multiple university studies across North America prove that ESN

is a consistent product that enhances nitrogen use effi ciency on a

variety of crops, especially winter wheat and corn.

That is good news for Anderson. “I have three years of experience

with ESN and it seems to be an economically good product. I don’t

seem to have any yellowing of my plants and it seems to do what

they say it will do. I’m going to use it again this fall,” he said.

“ESN is by far the most effi cient form of nitrogen I’ve found,”

said Botsford. “We’re an independent retailer and don’t have the

luxury of recommending the same old thing year after year so

we always have to keep our eye out for the best product for our

customers. We found ESN about 10 years ago and we’ve stuck

with it because it works better than anything else that we’ve tried

along the way.”

For Additional ESN Information

www.smartnitrogen.com; ESN Customer Service 1-800-403-2861

North Dakota and Minnesota:Kent Broscoff: (763) 248-3452 kent.broscoff@agrium.com

Montana:Todd Latimer: (303) 804-4422 todd.latimer@agrium.com

South Dakota and Nebraska:Bryan Guipre: (785) 392-7525 bryan.guipre@agrium.com

Manitoba and Eastern Saskatchewan: Jaime Rozdeba: (204) 365-6463 jaime.rozdeba@agrium.com

Alberta and Western Saskatchewan: James Alexander: (403) 887-0782 james.alexander@agrium.com

** EEFs qualify for water quality incentives. To see if you can earn the incentive and learn more about specifi c guidelines, visit your local NRCS offi ce. As a result of its environmental benefi ts, ESN technology is eligible for government incentives through a National Conservation Stewardship Program as well as some Environmental Quality Incentives Programs (U.S. only). For more information, visit www.smartnitrogen.com.

Always read and follow label directions. ESN is a registered trademark owned by Agrium, Inc. Beck Ag is a leader in facilitating peer-to-peer conversations and providing convenient access to experts – allowing ag industry professionals the opportunity to learn about products, innovative technologies and business practices.

© 2014 Beck Ag

60

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20

ESN Increases Winter Wheat Yields and Profit

Whe

at Y

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(bu/

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Pro�

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3844

$24

$32$36

$49ESN/UreaUrea47

Wheat Price

• Urea treatment is 20 lbs N/ac w/seed + 40 lbs N/ac BC after seeding

• ESN/Urea is 40 lbs N/ac as ESN w/seed + 20 lbs N/ac as urea BC after seeding

• ESN treatment is 60 lbs N/ac as ESN w/seed

Pro�t increase does not include 0.6% protein increase or additional application cost for split applications. Source: On-farm demonstration at Biggar, SK.

ESN

Pro�t Increase