Guiding Producers Today to Feed the World Tomorrow Good Day from Ward Laboratories! Thank you for reading our handy reference book, WARDGUIDE. We trust you will use it often in the day-to-day operation of your agriculture business. WARDGUIDE is designed to help answer some of your basic questions. WARDGUIDE is produced from a variety of credible sources and our fifty plus years of experience in providing quality agricultural testing to thousands of producers throughout the United States. And while the guide is very complete, it will not answer all of your crop production questions…but Ward Laboratories is always just a phone call away and we are ready and willing to help you. We have designed WARDGUIDE to be as useful to you as possible with a quick- referencing table of contents to help locate the information you need. If you have any questions about its usage or content, please call us at (308) 234-2418 or (800) 887-7645 or send us a question by e-mail. We are proud of WARDGUIDE and trust it will be a valuable asset to your operation for years to come. Our best to you… Sincerely yours, Raymond C. Ward, President Ward Laboratories, Inc. Raymond C. Ward, Ph.D. Certified Professional Soil Scientist Table of Contents CROP NUTRITION AND MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................. 1 Essential Plant Nutrient Elements ................................................................................................ 2 Table 1-1: Sources of Essential Elements for Plant Nutrients..................................................................2 Table 1-2: Essential Elements and Forms for Plant Uptake .....................................................................3 The Plant: Parts and Basic Functions .......................................................................................... 4 Plant Nutrient Uptake ................................................................................................................... 6 Essential Plant Nutrients: Macronutrients .................................................................................... 7 Essential Plant Nutrients: Micronutrients .................................................................................... 11 General Outline: Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms ........................................................................ 13 Seed Quality .............................................................................................................................. 17 Effect of Tillers on Corn Yield .................................................................................................... 19 FEED TESTING .................................................................................................................................. 21 The Value of Feed Testing ......................................................................................................... 22 Feed Sampling Procedures ....................................................................................................... 22 Fractions of Feed ....................................................................................................................... 25 Figure 2-1: Fractions of Feed Used in Analysis .................................................................................... 25 Nutrient Feed Tests ................................................................................................................... 26 Table 2-1: Mineral Requirements and Tolerance Levels in Livestock ................................................... 29 The pH of Feed .......................................................................................................................... 33 Table 2-2: Expected pH Ranges for Ensiled Feeds .............................................................................. 33 Energy Values ........................................................................................................................... 34 Forage Quality Indexes .............................................................................................................. 35 Table 2-3: USDA Quality Guidelines for Alfalfa ..................................................................................... 35 Table 2-4: Relative Forage Quality Suggested for Different Cattle Types ............................................ 36 Table 2-5: Grass Hay Quality ................................................................................................................ 36 Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) ........................................................................................... 37 Table 2-6: NIR Recommended and Wet Chemistry Required Tests .................................................... 37 Toxicity and Animal Health Related Tests .................................................................................. 38 Table 2-7: Animal Response to Nitrate-Nitrogen Concentrations ......................................................... 38 1-800-887-7645 4007 Cherry Ave, P.O. Box 788 www.wardlab.com Kearney, Nebraska 68848-0788 2 Raymond C. Ward, Ph.D. Certified Professional Soil Scientist Table 2-8: Animal Response to Prussic Acid ........................................................................................ 39 Table 2-9: Feeding Risks at Various Mold Spore Counts ..................................................................... 40 Table 2-10: FDA Guidelines for Acceptable Aflatoxin Level in Corn Based on Intended Use .............. 41 Frequently Asked Questions ...................................................................................................... 42 FERTILIZER RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................................ 43 Nitrogen Fertilizer Recommendations ........................................................................................ 44 Table 3-1: Available Nitrogen from a Past Legume Crop ...................................................................... 44 Table 3-2: Available Nitrogen from Manure Application ........................................................................ 44 Table 3-3: Nitrogen Requirements and Subsoil Factors for Various Crops .......................................... 45 Phosphorus Fertilizer Recommendations .................................................................................. 46 Table 3-4: Sufficiency Ranges for Phosphorus Soil Tests .................................................................... 46 Table 3-5: Recommended Manure Application Rates for Phosphorus ................................................. 46 Table 3-6: Phosphorus Fertilizer Recommendations for Various Crops ............................................... 47 Potassium Fertilizer Recommendations ..................................................................................... 48 Table 3-7: Sufficiency Ranges for Soil Potassium Test ........................................................................ 48 Table 3-8: Recommended Manure Application Rates for Potassium ................................................... 48 Table 3-9: Potassium Fertilizer Recommendations for Various Crops ................................................. 49 Sulfur Fertilizer Recommendations ............................................................................................ 50 Table 3-10: Sulfur Recommendations for Various Crops ...................................................................... 51 Zinc Fertilizer Recommendations ............................................................................................... 52 Table 3-11: Zinc Fertilizer Recommendations for Various Crops ......................................................... 53 Iron Fertilizer Recommendations ............................................................................................... 54 Table 3-12: Iron Soil Test Ratings ......................................................................................................... 54 Copper Fertilizer Recommendations .......................................................................................... 55 Table 3-13: Copper Fertilizer Recommendations .................................................................................. 55 Manganese Fertilizer Recommendations ................................................................................... 56 Table 3-14: Manganese Fertilizer Recommendations for Various Crops ............................................. 57 Lime Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 58 Table 3-15: Desired pH Levels for Various Crops ................................................................................. 59 Table 3-16: Lime Recommendation Based on Buffer pH ...................................................................... 59 Magnesium Fertilizer Recommendations ................................................................................... 60 Table 3-17: Magnesium Soil Test Ratings ............................................................................................. 60 1-800-887-7645 4007 Cherry Ave, P.O. Box 788 www.wardlab.com Kearney, Nebraska 68848-0788 3 Raymond C. Ward, Ph.D. Certified Professional Soil Scientist Table 3-18: Magnesium Fertilizer Recommendations ........................................................................... 61 Boron Fertilizer Recommendation