Trevor Cowieson P.Ag. C.A.C., Souris, MB

The John Deere 1860 No-till drill has the capability to double shoot dry fertilizer for a one-pass operation. The problems we envisioned were two-fold. Applying nitrogen in any seed run at sufficient amounts for crop production can cause severe problems with the germination. Applying sufficient nitrogen in an extremely narrow band such as with a disc drill, could increase this problem dramatically.

The economics of dry N vs. NH3 have always made us lean toward the use of Anhydrous in a pre-seed banding operation.

Four years ago, we stumbled across the Exactrix system and began to look seriously at how this could be used for a one-pass operation with our drill. Incorporating this high pressure Anhydrous system on the J.D. 1860 in order to achieve a on-pass seeding system began to look promising.

Cold Flow Anhydrous systems have been tried on the 1860 a few times with varying degrees of acceptability. The problems that emerged from these attempts centered around disc freezing from the "splash" of the NH3, when placed close to the disc.

The solution that had the most promise for this drill meant re-arranging the openers, and moving from a 7.5" seed run to an 11’’ seed run. The Exactrix "injectors" being mounted on the openers that would be exclusive to this and not have any seed capability.

The following diagram outlines the configuration used that made this work.

Spacing between seed runs is 11", with a 22" fertilizer band space.

The straightforward answer to such a question is "Yes it works". This configuration works very well to achieve the mid-row, one-pass operation we were striving for. For most of the crops we grow this type of configuration works as well as any other mid-row banding unit.

The problems we are seeing have to do with the speed with which the crop is able to find the Nitrogen band. This Nitrogen band is in effect 5.5" away from the seed run. In Wheat, Sunflower, Canola, we have not seen any noticeable visual lag in picking up the Nitrogen. Flax is one crop where this lag has been evident. It takes anywhere from 7-14 days for flax to show visible signs of picking up the N band.

To counteract the effect of the bandwidth, we have tried several rates of N, with the P, K, S blends put down with the seed. To date we have tried various rates to achieve actual numbers of 10, 15 and 20 Lbs. of N. The higher rates present a risk of seedling damage, and to date we have seen no appreciable differences that would indicate it is necessary to push the upper limits. The past 2 years, we have remained at the 10 Lb. rate of seed placed N. Our belief is that this "starter" fertilizer should help to reduce the negative impact that any lag in getting to the Anhydrous band could have.

A number of years ago, when the move to mid-row and wide spacing was taking place, the popular theory was that there was no negative yield impact from row spacing to 12".

Information coming out now would suggest that there is a negative impact and that narrow row space is indeed better for yield.

On our farm, we have always felt that narrower is better, but when we look at the economics of reduced tillage, one-pass seeding etc., the trade-off that we may have in a very slight reduction in yield has been worth it. Savings on total equipment costs, fuel and labor alone, have proven to surpass what may or may not be lost in yield.

Since moving to the J.D. 1860, six years ago, we have also witnessed a reduction in herbicide usage, which we believe has come from the extremely low disturbance. This has increased even more since moving to a one-pass operation.

With the incorporation of low disturbance seeding 15 years ago and the recent move to the one-pass operation with the Exactrix system and the accuracy that this system brings, we are able to reduce the amount of Nitrogen being used to achieve target yields.

To date, we have reduced our N usage by about 15% and are looking to do some field tests this season, which will hopefully indicate that this can move to a 30-40% reduction in N usage over what we were using under our previous seeding system. Time will tell on this one.

For more information on some of the innovation that is being done with NH3 by Exactrix, you should visit their web site at www.exactrix.com.