Soil sampling fields that have received banded fertilizer applications

Abstract

Abstract Banding of fertilizers below the seed at planting under reduced tillage conditions is becoming more commonplace. This technique however, can lead to difficulties in obtaining a representative soil sample for determining the status of mobile (N,S) and nonmobile (P,K) nutrients. This study was designed to evaluate three different soil sampling techniques. These techniques included: systematic (taking a series of soil cores perpendicular to band rows), controlled (random soil sampling avoiding the band row), and random soil sampling. All three sampling techniques adequately estimated the mobile nutrient status of soils; however, differences as a consequence of soil sampling techniques were observed for non‐mobile nutrients. The systematic sampling technique provided the highest non‐mobile nutrient values, while the controlled sampling procedure the lowest. Considering time, labor costs and the lack of availability of skilled labor the random sampling technique was the best for sampling fertilizer ba...