Back up your instincts with data-driven decision making. AgExpert is your go-to for all the data on your farm, so you can stay one step ahead of the curve in the field and in your finances. Get started today at AgExpert.ca GET A HEAD START. Maximize your data. Your fields. Your profit. 16634_AGEX_2024_HeadStart_4-687x6-062.indd 1 2025-01-07 11:14 AM component is understanding the higher level of management that strip-till requires, particularly planning for fall tillage, which is very crop-dependent. LEARNING MORE ABOUT SULPHUR The second of Lauzon’s projects, “Timing and Placement on Sulphur on Corn, Soybeans and Wheat,” was conducted during the 2022, 2023, and 2024 growing seasons. Four goals included determining the extent of sulphur response in the three crops, determining the timing and placement of applied sulphur on crop response, evaluating the release timing of plant-available sulphur from elemental sulphur, and further calibrating a sulphur soil test. The work was conducted at Elora with additional sites available from work by Pioneer/Corteva Agriscience, Maizex Seeds, and OMAFA’s soybean specialist, Horst Bohner. Testing for sulphur response in-field is challenging because it requires correcting for the nitrogen in ammonium sulphate or potassium in potassium sulphate. But in terms of the extent of sulphur response in the three crops and determining the impact of timing and placement of applied sulphur, only two off-station sites showed a response. “At the on-station sites, the preliminary data evaluation has not shown any response to applied sulphur regardless of application timing or placement," states the project summary. The summary went to cite the need for the final year's data to complete a final evaluation. According to Shawn Brenneman, most growers in Ontario understand sulphur’s role in maximizing yields, and many consider it a macro-nutrient for crops like corn, wheat and canola. What can confound growers’ understanding is the uptake of sulphur in different crops; with wheat or sugar beets, the demand for sulphur is larger in vegetative stages. Corn, soybeans, and potatoes require most of their sulphur from later ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER RESEARCH 11 vegetative through to reproductive stages, so mineralization and release from the soil can have a bigger influence on overall sulphur supply. “The majority of growers I work with account for sulphur demand somewhere in their crop plan,” says Brenneman, director of commercial growth and strategy for CanGrow Crop Solutions. “This could be through manure, organic amendments, organic matter mineralization, or applied fertilizer sulphur sources. Where we can do more work is in the 4R management of sulphur, better understanding when crops need sulphur, sources and potential risk factors for losses from runoff, erosion, leaching, volatilization, and tie-up with precipitation.” In certain crops and certain regions of Ontario, applying sulphur is used as a form of insurance, adds Colin Elgie, soil fertility specialist for field crops with OMAFA. He agrees with Brenneman’s approach that the 4R nutrient stewardship approach is best. “In some cases, we’re probably overapplying it and it’s likely not necessary on every field, every year for that crop,” says Elgie. “It should be looked at specifically as that secondary macro and something that variable-rate application may be a good fit for. If we have a way to identify where that response is going to be in the field and apply it where it’s needed, great -because it’s not something that we can easily build up year after year.” • This project was funded in part by the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, a collaboration between the Government of Ontario and the University of Guelph.
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