For years, the term sidedressing conjured up images of five-knife, 500-gallon anhydrous ammonia applicators running 5 mph in 12-inch-tall corn. Sidedressing was as out of style as a corn picker (except in the eastern Corn Belt and on sandy soil).Despite the stereotype, sidedressing has always been agronomically sound. Now, new equipment, new techniques, new concerns about nitrogen cost and efficiency, and a handful of wet falls and wetter springs are causing many farmers to take a new look at this old practice. Sidedressing is definitely different the second time around. You can start earlier in the season because low-disturbance openers for both anhydrous ammonia (NH_3) and liquid nitrogen let you run 9 or 10 mph in two-leaf corn.
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