b'A Yara employee checks potatoes in a field fertilized by Yara products. PHOTO: YARAnumber of years, we have performed many plotsthat apply dry fertilizer blends, explains Bradywere able to increase the amount normally applied evaluating the benefits of additional nutrients toStover, Yara sales agronomist for the Washingtonthrough liquid fertilizers in the irrigation system, the grower standard program. We have been see- region. When these situations occurred, somehe explains. By the end of the growing season, ing promising results with the addition of calciumgrowers were not able to get a dry pre-plant appli- the same amount of nutrients was applied as a nitrate overriding drought stress.cation of fertilizer applied to the field. So, Plan Bnormal year, but the application method changed However, very wet weather, especially in springwas implemented. to fit the scenario the environment had created.and fall, is also always a possibility. In Washing- These growers allowed the fields to naturallyFinding ways to be more reactive to weather ton in recent years for example, there has beendry, and Stover reports when the field was drypatterns throughout the season are particularly significant amounts of wet weatherand this isenough to plant, they would apply as muchbeing sought by farmers who dont irrigate, where the value of using multiple fertilizer appli- fertilizer in the dry form as they could during theobserves Toby Goodroad, Yaras North America di-cation methods shines through. In some areas,planting process. Knowing that they could notrector of market development. This could be done the wet fields did not permit the use of machinesput as much nutrients down at pre-plant, theythrough side-dress liquid or top-dressed dry, he SPRING 2020 SPUDSMART.COM 33'