Phosphorus-based starter fertilizer can increase pinto bean seed yield. That’s according to Greg Endres, North Dakota State University Extension cropping systems specialist.
That finding is the result of nearly a decade of NDSU phosphorus-based starter fertilizer trials conducted at the Carrington Research Extension Center. The trials evaluated pinto bean response primarily with liquid 10-34-0 fertilizer applied using different methods and rates in loam soil generally testing low in phosphorus.
Research highlights include:
- Pinto bean seed yield increased more than 3 hundredweight (cwt) per acre with in-furrow (IF, meaning fertilizer placed directly with seed) -applied 10-34-0 at 2 to 3 gallons per acre (gpa), compared with the untreated check.
- Yield was similar with IF- and band-applied (2 inches horizontally placed from planted seed) 10-34-0 at 3 to 6 gpa, although the plant population was reduced with IF application.
- Broadcast or midrow (centered between 22- or 30-inch rows) band-applied 10-34-0 did not increase yield.
- Yield was similar between low (2.5 to 3 gpa) and high (5 to 6 gpa) rates of IF-applied 10-34-0. The high fertilizer rate reduced the plant population.
- The plant population and yield were similar between IF-applied 10-34-0 and the low-salt fertilizer 6-24-6.
More information about this research is available in NDSU Extension publication “Pinto Bean Response to Phosphorus Starter Fertilizer in East-central North Dakota.”
