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Project Details:
Methodology
Objective
Justification
Recently, sulfur (S) deficiency has been document through yield and plant S increase from applied S fertilizers in northeast Iowa alfalfa fields. This measured production response varied within fields, with certain areas showing greater response in plant coloration, growth, and yield increase than in other areas. It is common practice to rotate corn after discontinuing the alfalfa crop. With the high S demand by alfalfa, there is the potential that crop-available soil S levels are depleted enough that deficiency is occurring in the following corn crop. Also, measured deposition of S in precipitation has decreased considerably over the recent past, thus potentially supplying less plant-available S for crop use. Exploratory work in 2006 indicated significant corn yield increase to S application in specific field areas where early-season corn plant coloration indicated possible S deficiency.
Many years of prior research in Iowa has not noted improved corn yield with S fertilization. However, the most recent statewide research (2000-2001) conducted with S application to corn and soybean did not have sites in northeast Iowa. It would be noteworthy to determine if the supply of crop-available S has diminished enough that S deficiency is now occurring in grain crops as it is in alfalfa.
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