Optimizing N, P and K Rates Based On Soil Testing, Plant Growth, Fertilizer Costs and Commodity Prices.

Plant nutrient management based on soil testing and input cost is important to farming profit and environmental quality protection. An interactive web-based computer program is available to make sound decisions on fertilizer application considering soil test results, plant growth conditions, and commodity and fertilizer prices. This decision support system allows users to obtain fertilizer recommendation based on soil test results and crop nutrient needs, and to calculate the appropriate amount of fertilizers to reach the potential yield goal.  In addition to provide soil test interpretation, the program can be used to estimate the yield and economic return from a user-specified fertilization practice, and can be used to compare the options based on commodity prices, fertilizer costs, and the amount of fertilizer a producer is willing to apply. If animal manure is used to supply nutrients, the amount of manure is also provided based either on crop nitrogen or phosphorus requirement. More precise nitrogen recommendation can be obtained by implementing an N-rich strip coupled with mid-season sensing data. These decision support tools make nutrient management more economical than traditional methods.