Steve D. Ruhl, Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent
To evaluate the effect of T-22 biological fungicide seed treatment and two rates of nitrogen on corn yields
| Cooperator: | Tom Weiler | ||||
| County: | Morrow | ||||
| Nearest Town: | Chesterville | ||||
| Soil Type: | Sloan silty clay loam | ||||
| Drainage: | Systematically tiled | ||||
| Tillage: | Conventional | ||||
| Previous Crop: | Soybeans | ||||
| Variety: | Golden Harvest H887 | ||||
| Soil Test: | pH 7.0, P 23ppm, K 154ppm | ||||
| Fertilizer: | 250 lb/A 0-0-60 pre-plant 200 lb/A of 19-19-19 at planting Sidedress N — See table |
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| Herbicides: |
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| Planting Date: | April 27, 2001 | ||||
| Planting Rate: | 30,200 seeds/A | ||||
| Row Width: | 30-inch | ||||
| Harvest Date: | October 22, 2001 |
A split planter box treatment of 1 oz/A of T-22 vs. no fungicide treatment was used in this study. The planter used was a six-row machine. The experimental design was a non-randomized systematic arrangement of four treatment combinations of fungicide and sidedressed nitrogen. There were four replications of the treatment combinations. A diagram of the plots is shown below.
| T- 22 & 100 N |
100 N |
150 N |
T- 22 & 150 N |
T- 22 & 100 N |
100 N |
150 N |
T- 22 & 150 N |
T- 22 & 100 N |
100 N |
150 N |
T- 22 & 150 N |
T- 22 & 100 N |
100 N |
150 N |
T- 22 & 150 N |
The whole test area received 40 lb/A of nitrogen from the use of 19-19-19 at planting. Side-dressed nitrogen was applied on June 18 at rates of 60 lb/A and 110 lb/A of nitrogen as anhydrous ammonia. The total rates of 100 and 150 lb/A nitrogen were used due to the 12 percent organic matter of the soil and the desire not to over-apply nitrogen. Individual treatment strips were three rows wide, and the length of the strips was 680 feet. Each treatment strip was weighed with a weigh wagon. The entire width of the strips was harvested.
| Table 1. Corn Yield1. | |
| Treatment | Yield |
| (bu/A) | |
| T-22 and 150# Nitrogen | 189.9 a |
| No T-22 and 100# Nitrogen | 181.7 b |
| No T-22 and 150# Nitrogen | 178.4 b |
| T-22 and 100# Nitrogen | 177.5 b |
| LSD (0.05) | 4.6 |
| F | 17.7 |
| CV(%) | 1.5 |
| 1 Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different. | |
The T-22 plus 150 pounds of nitrogen treatment yielded significantly higher than the other treatments. The other three treatments were not significantly different from one another.
T-22, produced by BioWorks, Inc., is a biological fungicide that is applied as a dry powder to seeds in the planter box. The Trichoderma strain used is a living biological inoculant that becomes active and colonizes plant roots as they develop. T-22 protects roots from soil pathogens such as Pythium, Fusarium, and Rhizoctonia. Healthier roots are thought to better utilize nitrogen and withstand drought. We purposely under-applied nitrogen for this field so we could see if T-22 would have any effect under dry conditions, if they existed, and if
T-22 improves the nitrogen efficiency, we could see this expressed in a yield increase. If the recommended tri-state nitrogen rate of 190 pounds was used and there was a poor growing year, the improved nitrogen efficiency might go undetected.
The author would like to thank Golden Harvest for donating the corn and helping to weigh the treatments in this study.
For additional information, contact:
Steve Ruhl
Ohio State University Extension, Morrow County
871 W. Marion Rd., Suite 102
Mt. Gilead, OH 43338
419-947-1070
ruhl1@postoffice.ag.ohio-state.edu