BY John B. McNabb

The first experiences I had with No-Till farming was seeding winter wheat back into stubble ground with a regular deep furrow drill. After five or six rounds, I had a problem with straw plugging so I finished the field with a disc and then seeded the balance with the deep furrow. The next year, to my surprise, the first five or six rounds were the best grain I had in the field where I had No-Till planted. This beginning of No-Till seeding turned out to be the beginning of a great new sowing method for my farm.

At that time, I didn't really consider the benefits of No-Till drilling including controlling soil erosion and conserving soil moisture. I hadn't realized what was really taking place throughout the years, I had always tried to pull wider drills, wider chisels, and larger discs. So, when I would looked at 151 or 201 drill to do No-Till drilling without plugging, I just left the idea out because I thought I could never get all of the work done.

Later, I attended a 0-Till conference in Canada. It was there that I became even more knowledgeable about No-Till practices. I had been familiar wit the Yielder Drill10" seed spacing with fertilizer deep bands between every other row at 20" centers. Then the real eye Opener came. Yielder moved the rows to paired row configuration of 5" seed row and deep band in between that. When I saw the colored research slide of the seed roots growing towards the deep and I knew we had to make the 201 drill work . After analyzing the additional carrying capacity of seed and fertilizer and greater drilling speed through the field in a one time operation, I realized it would work.

I talked to the manufacturer of the Yielder grain drill and negotiated with him to build McNabb Farms four 25' drills. We now run less than half the tractors we used to run and the tractors we do operate, operate fewer hours per yea r. We also have found that in using O-Till drills there is less dust, so there is less maintenance.

The savings amounts to approximately $35.00 to $40.00 per acre in savings.

The difference between 10" rows with deep banding, 5" away and 5" seed row with deep band 2 1/2" away is unbelievable. We are now finding that we would like more rows of seed with more deep bands to give more of a cross row feeding situation, especially in spring seeding.

There has been substantial discussion on whether or not fertilizer broadcasting is just as food as deep band placement. I have done it both ways and believe me, deep banding the fertilizer is very important and much preferred over broadcast fertilizing. In years of favorable moisture, you can expect up to a 20% higher fertilizer response from deep banding over broadcasting of the fertilizer. Under drier conditions the advantage of deep banding over broadcasting may increase 80% or even 100%! It is important to keep in mind that these increases are achieved while maintaining the same rate of fertilizer per acre..

Broadcasting fertilize causes seed root masses to develop and grow close to the surface where the ground dries out first. Deep banding develops a downward trend of root masses where the moisture is located. Proper fertilizer placement is essential for the development of proper seed rooting patterns.

Through extensive agricultural research in both the U.S. and Canada it is now well developed and proven to me through my own experience that deep banding of the fertilizer at the time of planting is far more superior than any other method currently used.

Here are some points to consider regarding fertilizer placement and rooting patterns:

1. Plant-roots must establish contact with fertilizer at an early stage of growth to achieve a high yield potential.

2. Roots develop in systematic manner that is genetically programmed into the plant.

3. To ensure maximum fertilizer uptake, fertilizer placement should be adapted to the rooting pattern of the crop.

1. Plant roots are not active in the surface layer of the soil when it is dry
2. Roots do not seek out fertilizer bands but grow into them by accident.

7. Broadcast fertilizer is by-passed by the first crop roots that develop, but this is not necessarily true for shallow-rooted weeds.

B. Fertilizer placement can influence the depth of rooting.

9. Broadcast applied fertilizer tends to encourage shallower rooted crops while banding below the depth of seeding can encourage deeper rooting .

10. Deeper rooting can be a form of drought insurance.

1. Use of starter fertilizer is not always necessary, but 1 most likely to be beneficial on cold, wet soils with low P levels.

12. Precision placement of fertilizer to the side and below the seed row could be an effective method of providing early and uniform uptake of fertilizer by all of the crop.

It has been a pleasure meeting with you tonight. I hope that my remarks have provided you with increased knowledge of the importance of deep band fertilizing with your planting. Thank you.