STEEP - Foliar Fertilizer on Soft White Winter Wheat

Foliar Fertilizer on Soft White Winter Wheat

Morrie Albers
with Ken Hart, Lewis/Idaho County Cooperative Extension

Objective

Evaluate yield impact of foliar fertilizers on winter wheat production.

Location: 15 miles north of Nezperce, ID, just over Clearwater County line
Annual precipitation: 22 inches
Previous crop: Summer fallow

Treatments

Check - no foliar
Treatment 1 - 12-1-2 w/ 2% calcium, manganese, zinc, copper and 9.9% added chlorides (Stand+, provided by NuChem)
Treatment 2 - 20-20-20 w/ boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc (Clean Crop Foliar, provided by Nezperce NH3)

Comments

Foliar application of 10 gallons solution/acre was on May 18, 1995. Wheat was fully tillered, Feekes 5 to 6. Plot size was 30' X 1100', with four replications. Plots were harvested August 21 and weighed with portable truck scales.

Data

Yield, bu/ac

Treatment

Rep 1

Rep 2

Rep 3

Rep 4

Average

Check

90.0

81.9

82.2

60.0

78.5a

Foliar 1

89.1

74.0

97.9

76.5

84.4a

Foliar 2

94.2

75.5

89.1

82.7

85.4a

LSD

13.0

Conclusion

The application of foliar fertilizer had no effect on winter wheat yield, as measured by this test. The yield results of these plots revealed wide variability between plots which was not evident from visual inspection. This resulted in a higher than expected LSD statistic. There exists the possibility of harvest error to explain part of this variability. The truck had to be reset on the scales several times and there may have been other problems related to the first time operating this equipment. This is the first year of a planned three year project.