I am currently using atom jet 3/4” single shoot openers on a bourgault 3320 qda with 10” spacing and mrbs. I think I am close to maxed on the amount of P and S I can safely put with the seed and was wondering what experiences there are using a side band on that particular drill. It has the 4.5” v style packers. Im not interested in changing drills right now. Any relevant comments would be great
Side band openers
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A switch to 1” or 2” openers would provide more seed bed width and hopefully higher safe rates of fertilizer with the seed.
Different option would be to put some p and s in the mrb. I do this, but it needed another metering auger on my airtank.
You could look at getting the S right out of the drill by spreading it.
Maybe a product like MES15 would be safer in the seed row than AMS?
Have you done any trials to verify that there is damage? Often it is cheaper to up the seed rate 10% to account for small losses.
Different option would be to put some p and s in the mrb. I do this, but it needed another metering auger on my airtank.
You could look at getting the S right out of the drill by spreading it.
Maybe a product like MES15 would be safer in the seed row than AMS?
Have you done any trials to verify that there is damage? Often it is cheaper to up the seed rate 10% to account for small losses.
Well what I was thinking is that with a sideband I would go to a much higher rate of phos where the crop roots would get to it and utilize it in the same crop year. I pull a tbt and tbh tank. Both 350 bougaults. I have enough flow from the tractor to run 3 fans and thought this might be a cheap way to be like a tri stream setup but staying at 10”
Bourgault has been doing some of these trials the last few years and are available on the website.
In 2020 there was no real yield benefit to 70p vs 35p. There was a slightly higher plant count with lower P rates in the seedrow.
They also have multiple year trials splitting the P between seedrow and MRB.
I could not find enough difference in their agronomy trials to support the trimax distribution system.
In 2020 there was no real yield benefit to 70p vs 35p. There was a slightly higher plant count with lower P rates in the seedrow.
They also have multiple year trials splitting the P between seedrow and MRB.
I could not find enough difference in their agronomy trials to support the trimax distribution system.
I think if you look at it year to year there will be small differences but in the long term if p levels continue to drop that is going to become the limiting factor in yields. I am looking at this as a way to be able to consistently add more than removal rates and be. Lose to the root regardless of dryness without the toxicity in the row
I used to be of the same opinion, but lately I feel that way of thinking is wrong. Most of the data has been coming out of Europe or the US where their soils are much older and also in a thawed state year round.
In the prairies the articles I have read say we have a HUGE pool of phosphate tied up in the ground (for most soil types, there might be fringe exceptions). The problem is the phosphate is tied up in tight bonds with other minerals.
Applying very high rates of 11-52 gets slightly higher rates to the plants, but does very little to the overall total (peeing in an Olympic swimming pool).
Doing things to increase the plant availability from the huge bonded phosphate pool is where the future is headed in my opinion.
Cover crops are already showing a benefit for increased P availability, but doubtful they will work for most of the Canadian prairies as our growing season is too short.
I floated on 300 lbs/ac of 11-52 on 40 ac blocks in 3 fields and have been using normal 11-52 rates during seeding and have seen no yield response yet to the floated areas over the last 4 years. Recommend you try some test areas. My soil test P is usually low on soil tests, even in the floated areas.
A lot of P can be put down the MRB’s if just looking to boost rates. A lot can be put with the seed in moist clay soils as well.
If you do decide to go the sideband route, it will work in most soils with “V” packers, but not as consistent depth. I have tried 2”, 1” and 3/4” bourgault tips with V packers and was a little disappointed with the 2” and V packers. Tried a few round packers and the 2” worked quite well.
I think you could accomplish what you initially want to do without an additional meter just by using blends exclusively instead of base products like. 46-0-0.
We use a high ratio blend of 46-0-0 with a low ratio of 11–52-0 on the cereals down the MRB’s. At the same time a low ratio 46-0-0 blend with a high ratio of 11-52-0 is going down the seed boot in row. This is on a 10” spaced 3720. There is a third blend containing sulphur that we put into the seed row system for canola. You can use the Bourgault automatic tank configuration option in the monitor to see what configuration will cover the most acres.
This also stops the pooohooo that MRB’s are no good because you can get all of the nutrient types into the seed row.
We use a high ratio blend of 46-0-0 with a low ratio of 11–52-0 on the cereals down the MRB’s. At the same time a low ratio 46-0-0 blend with a high ratio of 11-52-0 is going down the seed boot in row. This is on a 10” spaced 3720. There is a third blend containing sulphur that we put into the seed row system for canola. You can use the Bourgault automatic tank configuration option in the monitor to see what configuration will cover the most acres.
This also stops the pooohooo that MRB’s are no good because you can get all of the nutrient types into the seed row.
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