Soft Red Winter Wheat Response to Mesz Fertilizer.

Declining levels of atmospheric sulfur deposition and low CEC soils make the Mid-Atlantic region a good candidate for fertilizer materials that contain sulfur and micronutrients.  Achieving uniform distribution of needed micronutrients can be difficult because of the low application rates.  Compound fertilizers that include micronutrients within or on macronutrient prills can help improve uniformity of application and potential crop response.  YY site years of winter wheat studies have been conducted in Virginia since 20MM.  A total of ten treatments including a control with no fertilizer applied, only nitrogen (134 kg N ha^-1), 67 kg P₂O₅ ha^-1 applied as: mono-ammonium phosphate, as MESZ, as MES10 and as MES15 in a factorial with 67 kg K₂O ha^-1 either as muriate of potash, ASPIRE or no K₂O in an RCB design with four replications.  Overall, grain yield increases to MESZ compared to standard commercial nutrient sources were rare, even though sites were selected based on likelihood of response to P and K.  When yield increases did occur, it was most frequently associated with high yielding conditions and at sites with low phosphorus and micronutrient soil test levels.