How much nitrogen does corn get from fertilizer? Less than farmers think
Wednesday, May 31, 2023 - 13:23
in Earth & Climate
Corn growers seeking to increase the amount of nitrogen taken up by their crop can adjust many aspects of fertilizer application, but recent studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign show those tweaks don't do much to improve uptake efficiency from fertilizer. That's because, the studies show, corn takes up the majority of its nitrogen—about 67% on average—from sources occurring naturally in soil, not from fertilizer.