Effect of Micronutrient Application on Corn Yield.

Pre-formulated micronutrient packages are advertised to improve yields and nutritional content of Missouri’s crops. Increased yields would translate into greater returns for Missouri producers and increased fertilizer sales. Statistics on micronutrient use and yield improvement in Missouri are scant. The objectives of this study are to determine the physiological differences in Corn Hybrid PO636AMX based on preformulated micronutrient applications throughout the growing season. The following nutrient packages were applied and tested as compared to the control (AgXplore’s MicroStarter, Agrisolutions’ Ultra-Che Corn Mix, Agrigaurdian’s MOLY, Wuxall Top 3, Agrisolutions Max IN ZMB + Max-IN Boron, Inorganic Zn sulfate Mn sulfate & Molybdate). Biomass, plant height, SPAD, leaf area measurements are taken throughout the growing season as well as kernels/cob data and final yield. There are no significant differences amongst the treatments but when compared to the control we see some slight variations. AgXplores Microstarter has the highest biomass of all treatments at the 1^st harvest with 119.3g of dry leaf tissue and 66.2 g of stem tissue and the lowest being Agriguardians MOLY with 100.4g leaf tissue and 57g stem tissue. When looking at yield we found that the Winfield MAX-In products yielded the highest with 206bu/ac and Agriguardian yielding the least with 186bu/ac. With ever-higher crop yields and, with the advent of cellulosic biofuel production, increases in whole plant removal will result in more micronutrients leaving farmers’ fields. This increase in micronutrients leaving the field and a potential reduction in soil supply power (associated with reductions in soil organic matter caused by the removal of not only grain yield but also crop residues) emphasize the importance to critically examine the role of micronutrient fertilization on corn in Missouri.