Webinar: Optimizing Nitrogen Application Rates for Corn

The Iowa Learning Farms conservation webinar taking place Nov. 17 at noon CST will feature Sotirios Archontoulis, associate professor of agronomy at Iowa State University. Archontoulis conducts research to identify practices that increase both crop productivity and environmental sustainability. The research has produced data pointing toward practices that balance nitrogen fertilizer application and system utilization in corn crops.

In the webinar, "Past, Present and Future Optimum N Rates for Corn," Archontoulis will draw on the results of field experiments and simulation models to describe future sustainable and profitable cropping systems that could be widely deployed. He will also discuss how N fertilizer affects soil-root-plant processes from a systems perspective, and how this model provides guidance in the determination of optimum N application rates for corn crops.

"Nitrogen is critically important to productivity in agricultural crops, but it is also a critical contributor to water quality degradation when unused N is transported to waterways," said Archontoulis. "Striking a balance in N application rates that provide the needed nourishment without contributing to leaching of N into waterways is the goal of much of our research. The ability to predict optimum N rates is probably five times more difficult than predicting crop yields, but we are making solid progress and are eager to see field results across greater scales."

Webinar participants are encouraged to ask questions of the presenters. People from all backgrounds and areas of interest are encouraged to join.

Shortly before noon CST Nov. 17:

Click this URL, or type this web address into your internet browser: https://iastate.zoom.us/j/364284172.

Or, go to https://iastate.zoom.us/join and enter meeting ID 364 284 172.

Or, join from a dial-in phone line by dialing +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 876 9923; meeting ID 364 284 172.

The webinar will also be recorded and archived on the ILF website, so that it can be watched at any time.

A Certified Crop Adviser board-approved continuing education unit has been applied for. Those who participate in the live webinar are eligible. Information about how to apply to receive the CEU will be provided at the end of the live webinar.