Managing Phosphorus, Potassium, And Sulfur In Soybean And Corn Rotations
Corn and soybeans are some of the most widely grown crops around the world. Often grown in rotation, corn and soybean crops require careful management to maximize yield, productivity, and nutrient uptake. In this article from the January/February 2025 issue of Fertilizer International, Dr. Karl Wyant, Nutrien Director of Agronomy, highlights how estimating phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur removal rates can equip growers with the insights they need to maintain soil fertility, prioritize input investments, and create a profitable nutrient management plan over the span of a crop rotation.
Assessing the combined nutrient removal rates of harvested corn and soybean crops for phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur is crucial to successful nutrient management. Combined removal rates provide a holistic understanding of the nutrients removed across the rotation. While removal rates differ across various climates, growing seasons, and soil conditions, the focus remains the same; plan to replenish your rotating crops with the nutrients they need at the right time to maximize productivity.
Furthermore, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur also have a direct impact on a soybean crop’s ability to fix nitrogen, which is an important component of the overall nitrogen management plan in the rotation. In corn and soybean rotations, this nitrogen fixation process allows soybean crops to produce their own nitrogen and enrich the soil with additional nitrogen for corn crops. Increasing the supply of phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur will support increased soybean nodulation and nitrogen fixation while maximizing crop yields.
Read the full article* to learn more and take a closer look at how high-yielding corn and soybean rotations remove elevated quantities of phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur, the effect of these nutrients on nitrogen fixation, typical removal rates in Brazil and the United States, and the importance of replacing these critical nutrients with a fertilizer program.
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