University of Illinois Extension and the Illinois Council on Best Management Practices (CBMP) have developed a new tool to help farmers and crop advisors determine the optimum nitrogen rate for corn and to plan for split applications of nitrogen, a recommended best management practice.
The Maximum Return to Nitrogen (MRTN) calculator is a regional tool developed by Midwest land-grant universities to help growers calculate the maximum return they will receive from nitrogen applications to corn based on prices of nitrogen and corn derived directly from research data. The calculator is available at http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/soilfertility/nrate.aspx.
CBMP and the U of Illinois Extension collaborated to take the MRTN calculator one step further, making it accessible via a smart phone app. The app allows a grower or certified crop advisor to take the recommended nitrogen rate for the region, choose from various sources of nitrogen (ammonia, 28 percent or dry), split the applications between fall, pre-plant, and post-applied, add in stabilizers, and calculate the corresponding application costs. A summary of the recommendation can be saved on the smart phone or tablet for future reference.
The app is free on the Android or Apple systems.
To access the application from Apple, go to http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mrtn-nitrogen-application/id560788301?.
To access the Android version, go to http://web.extension.illinois.edu/csrec/index.html then click on the “Register” block in the upper right corner.
CBMP and U of Illinois Extension encourage growers, certified crop advisors and fertilizer dealers to download the app when determining nitrogen needs for the 2013 corn crop and test its easy-to-use features.
