Winter Wheat Starter Fertilizer

If there ever was a crop to respond with yield to starter fertilizer, wheat is it. Seed placed phosphate is absolutely number one, but what if you don’t have the equipment for that? Work done by OMAFRA is showing some very promising results. What causes the yield response? Phos really promotes root growth. Root growth promotes top growth. Top growth promotes more root growth. And a strong root system increases winter survival. Seed placed phos on low-med testing soils gets you 10-20 bu/ac. High testing soils still give you a pretty predictable yield response, but it’s usually skinny on the payback. Broadcast starter is looking like a 12% yield bump in OMAFRA’s trials with soil tests 6-13 ppm on phos. The timing can be tricky, but try to get us to sneak in between the combine and drill with the airflow if you can’t put it down yourself. Starter on wheat is a no-brainer, but probably close to half of Ontario’s acres go in without any fertilizer. That’s just crazy.

By: Jeff Jacques