How to Factor Micronutrients Into Your Overall Strategy for Crop Nutrients
Micronutrients are a critical part of an overall nutrient plan for your farm, writes Jon Zuk, an agronomist at WinField United. Even though they’re used in a more nuanced way than macronutrients, they play a significant role in plant growth and development, which can help you achieve greater ROI and yield potential in your corn and soybeans. As you finalize your inputs for the upcoming season, use these considerations to weigh how micronutrients should factor into your overall nutrient strategy.
Do you have acres with suboptimal yield potential due to less-than-ideal soil pH levels or poor drainage? Maybe you have rented ground that you don’t want to invest in heavily. If so, a customized nutrient plan lets you know what those acres are doing, helps you manage those acres appropriately and may even allow you to spend less on nutrients in the process.
With lower-producing acres, I recommend doing a baseline nutrient application for crop removal using production history or any past in-season indicators such as imagery from the R7 Tool. Success with these types of acres isn’t about putting a flat layer of nutrients over them and calling it good. It’s about dialing in to the performance of each acre to help optimize ROI potential. Macronutrients are the primary components here, but with proper monitoring through crop scouting and tissue sampling, micronutrients could still make noticeable differences.
All 17 macronutrients and micronutrients are essential to crop growth and production, and most farmers do use micronutrients in some form. But remember that the right micronutrient needs to be used on the right crop at the right time. Work with your agronomist to prepare a comprehensive nutrient plan that allows you to focus nutrient applications to apply what is needed when the plant can use it the most.
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