Principal investigators:

A. Dobermann and C.A. Shapiro

Duration: 2000-2002

Funding: Pioneer Hi-Bred, IMC Global, Inc.

Contact:

Achim Dobermann Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, UNL, 253 Keim Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583-0915, (402) 472-1501 adobermann2@unl.edu

Charles Shapiro Northeast Research and Extension Center, Haskell Agricultural Laboratory, UNL, 57905 866 Road, Concord, NE 68728-2828, (402) 584-2803, cshapiro1@unl.edu

Project description:

Potassium effects on corn were last studied in Nebraska in the 1970s and early 1980s. Most of these studies were conducted on coarse-textured rangeland soils in the Sandhills that had been converted to growing irrigated corn. Yield response of corn to applied K was not significant and some sites showed a decrease in plant weight, for which there was no explanation. However, soil K levels in these soils have decreased after 25 years of irrigated corn cropping. New corn hybrids have become popular, but their different yield response to K is not known. In recent years, standability problems have been observed, particularly in high-yielding fields, but little is known about the genetic variation in the effect of K on stalk rot and stalk strength. The objectives of our research are (1) to quantify differences among corn hybrids in the effect of K on grain yield and stalk strength and (2) to identify the major mechanisms controlling the genetic variation in K effects on stalk strength and resistance to stalk rot.

Key results:

Publications:

Dobermann, A. 2001. Crop potassium nutrition – implications for fertilizer recommendations. In Proc. of the 31^st North-Central Extension-Industry Soil Fertility Conference, November 14-15, 2001, Des Moines, IA. Potash & Phosphate Institute, Brookings, SD. [Full Paper]