Fertility

Many individuals have already applied lime this fall; however, lime can still be applied before planting next spring. It is important to test soil pH and determine whether any lime needs to be applied for future crops. Proper soil pH is important for nutrient availability, herbicide activity, and crop development. For most soils, additional lime is not needed every year. Consider these points before liming your fields:

Tissue analysis can play an important role in determining if corn and soybean are getting adequate nutrition. Tissue samples can be pulled at various stages of development, but one of the most common times is when crops enter the reproductive stages (R1). Prior to R1, corn and soybean are in a rapid growth phase with very high nutrient uptake over several weeks. Sampling at R1 allows us to determine if their nutrient needs are being met, or if a particular nutrient is deficient. But how important is it that the tissue sampling happen right at flowering?