How to provide for rapid growth in maize

MAIZE can grow quickly over a short period of time. It’s therefore essential that farmers provide for this growth window by ensuring the crop first develops a healthy root system.

Natalie Wood, Agronomy Operations Manager at Yara, claims that without an extensive root system the crop will be unable to absorb all the nutrients it needs to sustain such rapid growth.

“It’s common to see a production of 50t/ha of fresh weight in a maize crop over a four month period,” says Natalie, “but this is only possible if you’ve achieved optimal crop establishment to preserve its future growth potential.”

The best way to secure a good root system is to ensure the crop has sufficient access to phosphate. But phosphate is highly soluble so if maize is drilled into a cold and wet soil, there will be little to no phosphate availability. “One way to get around this difficulty is to apply phosphate at the same time as drilling to provide the crop with immediate access to the nutrient, enabling it to grow a resilient root system quickly,” explains Natalie.

But just as we solve one weather inducing issue, another occurs. After a relatively sunny spring with very few April showers, the resulting dry soils can cause further problems. General nutrient availability decreases in the kind of dry soil we’re managing at the moment. This will also hinder root development, adversely affecting establishment in that key growth window.

“Doing the same thing every time will never deliver optimum results every year because you’re dealing with different weather conditions, changes to input costs and evolving soil fertility,” says Natalie. “So, the best we can do is anticipate and respond to conditions as quickly as possible to maximise a good return.”

Faced with difficulties in getting nutrients to the crop via the soil, an excellent alternative is foliar application of nutrients.

Applying foliar phosphate direct to the crop is the best way to ensure your growing maize crop has access to the right nutrients at the right time, allowing it to develop a healthy, robust root system and direct energy to growth when it matters most.

“Although we often accept that there’s nothing we can do about the weather, if we are clever we can take action to protect our crops from the stress that adverse weather can cause.”

Natalie goes on to say: “Biostimulents have shown excellent promise in protecting crops from abiotic stress caused by inclement weather such as drought. Trial work carried out in the UK in 2021 to investigate the effectiveness of biostimulants saw a maize yield increase of up to 4.4t/ha.

“By tackling the problem from both angles – protection through biostimulants and feeding the crop through foliar applications, we can secure an efficient, healthy crop that delivers a good return.”