ExactStrip Fertilizer – Placement and Tillage

Think about it – you’re hungry? You go to the fridge, cupboard or even just the table. But plants can’t just go to the food. Their roots can expand out, but like most of us they fall with gravity and go down. In 2024 we have the ability to bring the food to the plants. Just like we do for animals and people.

EVEN DISTRIBUTION - EVENLY FED

Liqui-Grow’s Liquid fertilizer is an even application of nutrients. Not sure what that means? Dry fertilizer is made up of little pellets or granules, and those are all different sizes, and spreaders throw them at different distances based on their size, so even if you are attempting to put on a certain number of pounds per acre – the distribution of those products are not the same as they spin out the back of the machine. And the wider the spinner is set to, the less accurate you are. Which really means the plants out to the ends probably aren’t getting the same chance at those rates of fertilizer. Liquid fertilizer is a liquid suspension and that means all of the application is the same across every acre for the rate desired, allowing all of the plants to have the same opportunity for uptake.

Roots Take Up Plant Food

There is evidence that corn roots will grow down to nearly six feet^[1] , depending on environmental conditions and product characteristics. Research shows that corn roots will horizontally spread up to 30” ^[2] but the bulk of the roots are within 7”-9” below the stalk. To grow good corn yields – you need to feed the plant where roots grow. And by placing the fertilizer in the bulk of the roots - offers more chances to get a better uptake. Especially in unfavorable growing conditions. Liquid fertilizer allows even placement and precise placement of fertilizer that plants need. Liqui-Grow's placement study shows that on average ExactStrip fertilizer placement is 17.4 bu better than no fertilizer and 7.6 bu better than broadcasting fertilizer. (See Figure 1 above.) Dr. Jake has since taken this data and started to answer the question, “If we add in tillage to the ExactStrip fertilizer placement what sort of response do we see?” As you can see – by incorporating the fertilizer with either strip till or banding at 6-7” injection rate we see a yield bump. This is because we don’t have to ask the corn plants to search out the food they need – and in cases where rainfall was low, we did not need the moisture to move the nutrients down into the root profile.

Placement Pays & Tillage Integrates

Liqui-Grow wrapped up a 3 year study on fertilizer placement - here are the results. This graph shows that corn likes fertilizer to be close to the root zone. We can grow very good corn yields here in the Midwest and not be super precise with fertilizer applications. This work shows that those who take the time and put fertilizer next to the row can often benefit from their labors. After the exciting announcement of ExactStrip fertilizer we started down the road of, “How do we work tillage into this?” 248.2bu/ac is a good base line - those methods are fairly traditional and widespread in the Midwest. Spread your fertilizer and hit it with tillage. (see Figure 2 above.) Injected 6” to 7“ was our copycat to traditional strip till methods.

Should we do the Exactstrip before or after strip till? The research would support the common thinking of fertilizing after strip till is best because it is the least disrupting method to the fertilizer. Any sort of tillage is going to move the fertilizer away from the intended row. This research shows that ExactStrip after strip till is 4.8 bu/ac better than ExactStrip before the strip till machine goes through the field.

Liqui-Grow Research team will continue to test different tillage options with ExactStrip fertilizer application.

Out with the Old - In with the New

The time saving fast applications and reduced need for labor of ExactStrip often outweighs that extra bu. Increase you see from traditional strip till. If you are currently using traditional strip till methods to apply fertilizer - Liqui-Grow would like to show you how we can help ease your labor and time investments and still achieve high yield opportunities.

Questions? Give us a shout!

Text us at 564-220-2508 or email questions@liqui-grow.com.