Nitrogen Rates for Corn and Grain Sorghum Studied by LSU AgCenter

by Don Molino

According to research being conducted by LSU AgCenter corn specialist Dr. Dan Fromme at the Dean Lee Research Station, corn producers in north and central Louisiana should be putting out around 175 pounds of nitrogen per acre. 

But Fromme, during an interview with the Voice of Louisiana Agriculture Radio Network, said in some cases farmers have been spreading between 200 and 225 pounds of nitrogen per acre.

And as for research this year funded by the Louisiana Soybean and Grain Research and Promotion Board, Fromme said “Last year we had some locations set up in north Louisiana. But as you well know what happened early on with flooding. So we lost all those locations.”

Concerning  the research he’s conducting on grain sorghum, Fromme pointed out grain sorghum is “sort of the step-child in Louisiana.  Right now, the sky is the limit for grain sorghum research or fertility work in grain sorghum.  We hope to start doing some fertility work in grain sorghum (in 2017) just to see if we can come up with some more concrete numbers for nitrogen management in sorghum.”

(This report is a service of the Louisiana Soybean and Grain Research and Promotion Board)