Side-dressing Corn with Liquid Manure Using a Soft-Drag Hose

ANR-0209

Agriculture and Natural Resources

Date:

12/18/2025

Glen Arnold, Professor, Field Specialist, Nutrient Management, Ohio State University Extension

Stephanie Karhoff, Assistant Professor, Field Specialist, Agronomic Systems, Ohio State University Extension

Liquid manure applications using a soft-drag or lay-flat hose are becoming increasingly popular in the Midwest as an efficient method of applying manure to farm fields. Application with a drag hose eliminates the compaction concern of heavy manure tankers. Liquid manure can be applied with a drag hose in-season to crops such as forages, wheat, and corn. Liquid manure replaces purchased fertilizers, improves yields, and better captures manure nutrients.

Liquid manure, especially swine finishing manure, can be a significant nitrogen source for field crops. Nearly all the nitrogen in swine manure is in the ammonium form which is readily available for growing crops. When applied to crops, manure nitrogen can replace purchased nitrogen, saving the livestock producer money.

Ohio State University Extension collaborated with a Darke County livestock producer to conduct on-farm research using a drag hose to side-dress emerged corn with liquid swine manure. The trial compared the yields of crops treated with swine manure against the yields of crops treated with 28% urea ammonium sulfate nitrate (UAN) for three crop seasons.

Table 1 is a summary of OSU Extension field research conducted using a 5-inch diameter drag hose to apply swine finishing manure to corn fields during the 2015–2019 growing seasons. The corn was generally at the V3 growth stage when the manure was subsurface-applied using a 12-row rolling coulter toolbar. Each season, three 12-row strips of corn were side-dressed with 200 pounds of nitrogen per acre while three other 12-row strips of corn received applications of commercial 28% urea ammonium sulfate nitrogen (UAN). All fields received 10 gallons per acre of 28% UAN as row starter each year and were in a corn-soybean rotation.

Table 1. Annual and average corn yield (bushels per acre) by treatment.
Harrod Farms Four-Year Manure Incorporation Drag Hose Corn Plots
Year	Swine Finishing Manure	28% UAN
2019	195	168
2018	264	246
2017	165	145
2016	222	216
2015	154	121
Average yield (bushels per acre)	200	179.2

The manure treatments averaged 20.8 bushels per acre more than the 28% UAN treatments. In this study, swine finishing manure was side-dressed each season at 6,500 gallons per acre, which provided all the side-dress nitrogen needed by the corn crop.

The analysis of the swine finishing manure used in the above trials is shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Manure analysis results of swine finishing manure.
Nutrient	Pounds per 1,000 gallons
Total nitrogen	35.89
Ammonium nitrogen (NH₄-N)	31.96
Organic-N	3.93
Phosphorus as P₂O₅	15.55
Potassium as K₂O	27.79

All the ammonium nitrogen becomes available to the corn crop, and approximately 50% of the organic nitrogen is plant-available over the growing season. In this study, the field received 6,500 gallons of manure consisting of 208 pounds of ammonium nitrogen and 13 pounds of organic nitrogen. Twenty pounds of row-starter nitrogen was applied for a total of 241 pounds applied nitrogen (20 pounds starter nitrogen + 208 pounds manure ammonium nitrogen + 13.5 pounds manure organic nitrogen) (Table 3).

Table 3. Each acre received 6,500 gallons of swine finishing manure, delivering:
208	lbs of ammonium nitrogen (readily available)
13	lbs of organic nitrogen (approx. 50% available)
101	lbs of P₂O₅
181	lbs of K₂O

When applying manure to farm fields it is important to match application rates to crop needs. Doing so prevents soil test phosphorus levels from exceeding the maintenance range provided by the Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations (20–40 ppm Mehlich-3) and decreases the risk of phosphorus loss. The 6,500 gallon per acre application rate included an estimated 101 pounds of P₂O₅. Crop removal rate in corn is 0.35 pounds P₂O₅ per bushel and 0.79 pounds per bushel in soybean, so a two-year corn-soybean rotation of 200 bushels per acre of corn and 65 bushels per acre of soybean (200 * 0.35 and 65 * 0.79 = 121 pounds of P₂O₅ removal) would remove all phosphorus applied.

Considerations When Using a Manure Drag Hose

For a drag-hose treatment to work with an emerged corn crop, the field must be firm enough to support the manure hose. If the field is soft from spring tillage, the manure hose will scour the soil surface, causing corn seedlings to either be uprooted or buried. No-till fields, fields with living or dead cover crops, and fields firmed by heavy rainfall after spring tillage can all support a drag hose. Fields tilled just in advance of planting are often too soft to support the drag hose.

Three primary methods of manure hose arrangement are used to side-dress corn with drag hoses in Ohio. The first method is to plant fields at an angle. This aligns with the method a drag-hose operator would employ if the field was void of crops and manure was being applied. Planting corn at an angle allows the manure applicator to place the manure hose diagonally across the field to match the orientation of the planted corn. This allows the commercial operator to drag-hose the entire field without assistance from a hose humper or hose wrangler.

The second method is to locate a hose humper or hose wrangler at the end of the corn field to maneuver the hose to keep its weight directly behind the applicator. This can work well for fields up to a quarter mile in length. The feeder hose is aligned along the end of the field and is moved as needed by the hose humper or wrangler.

The third method is to place a large amount of hose along the side of the corn field and have the hose pulled across the corn field by a hose humper or hose wrangler as the manure applicator progresses. This keeps the hose behind the applicator. This works well for fields of a half mile in length or greater.

Summary

The application of animal manure to growing crops can help maximize the utilization of manure nutrients. Corn is a crop that needs nitrogen and responds well to manure application. When manure is applied only to corn in a corn-soybean rotation, phosphorus accumulation should be minimal.

Liquid manure can be applied to corn immediately after planting up until the V4 growth stage if the field is firm enough to support the drag hose.

When applying any manure to corn in Ohio, always be aware of setback distances from ditches and streams. This information can be found in the NRCS 590 Nutrient Management Standard (agri.ohio.gov/wps/wcm/connect/gov/3dd2869c-32d2-4dd7-84d7-5c21f2f3b74b/590_OH_CPS_Nutrient_Management_2020.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CONVERT_TO=url&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE.Z18_M1HGGIK0N0JO00QO9DDDDM3000-3dd2869c-32d2-4dd7-84d7-5c21f2f3b74b-o3TOsXw). In addition to set-back distances, some areas in the state have weather-related restrictions that need to be followed. Contact your local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) office about manure application restrictions specific to your county.