Row Application Fertilizers

Give seedlings the best start with row application of fertilizers to improve nutrient use efficiency and stimulate enhanced and early seedling growth. Seedlings that have benefited from row application are robust and less prone to suffer from pests and diseases. For crops sown in rows, row application of fertilizers in a continuous band beside or below the seeds creates a concentrated zone of nutrients to promote enhanced seedling growth. Banding of phosphorus fertilizers near the seed row reduces the degree of P fixation and increases phosphorus efficiency. Whatever the crop grown or fertilizer applied, the best results are achieved by not placing the fertilizer too close to the seeds and ensuring the correct dose of fertilizer is applied.

Row application refers to the fertilizer is applied in the soil in continuous bands on one or both sides of the row. It is usually done in crops sown in rows, like sugarcane, potato, maize, etc. When the fertilizer is applied in bands near where roots are growing, the nutrients will easily be reached and taken up by the roots. The application is done either to the side and below the seed rows, slightly below the seeds, or in between rows. A common practice is to band fertilizer 2 inches to the side and 2 inches deeper than the seeds or plants. This provides the plants with a concentrated zone of nutrients and can improve nutrient use efficiency. The process can be done before or simultaneous with planting or seed drilling. Liquid or dry fertilizers can be used.

Major advantages of band application

• enhanced and early seedling growth, stronger seedlings are less prone to suffer from pests and diseases.
• banding phosphorus fertilizers near the seed row can increase phosphorus efficiency by reducing the degree of P fixation.

To prevent seedling injury and to reduce the risk of salt damage, fertilizer should not be placed too close to the seeds and should be applied at the right dose (high rates will damage the seedlings).

Side dressing is when fertilizers are applied in surface or subsurface bands along the side of plant rows after planting. Side dressing provides a valuable opportunity to split the recommended N into smaller applications and apply N throughout the season. Splitting the total nitrogen application into smaller doses throughout the season can be favorable, especially in coarse soils that have a high nitrate leaching potential. Side dressing is not as effective as preplant banding for immobile nutrients like P since side dressing does not allow time for these nutrients to become available to plants. Care must be taken to avoid damage to the crop, especially the plant’s root system.