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This Soils and Plant Nutrients Chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook examines the physical and chemical properties of soil as well as the important role organic matter plays. The chapter discusses how to submit a soil sample for testing and how to read the report to apply necessary fertilizers.
This manual, updated every year, covers pesticide use and safety information, chemical application equipment, fertilizer use, insect control, chemical weed control, plant growth regulators, animal damage control and disease control.
This publication provides basic information on the nutrient needs of trees and shrubs, types of fertilizers to apply and recommended methods and times of application.
This factsheet for farmers describes concepts, terminology, and guidelines concerning soil sampling. Proper testing allows farmers to apply the correct amount of lime and fertilizer to fields.
This factsheet explains how you can set up and maintain a worm composting bin for your home or office. Worm composting reduces the amount of material that ends up in the landfill and provides compost that can enrich the soil.
This factsheet explains the three factors of proper swine manure management: the nutrient content of the manure, the percentages of those nutrients that are available to the plant and the nutrient requirements of the plant.
This factsheet describes the nutrient composition of poultry manure and land application techniques based on matching the nutritional requirements of the crop with the nutrients available in manure. This publication also includes a worksheet to determine the nutrient needs of your crop.
This factsheet explains how to use dairy manure as a fertilizer source. Included are descriptions of nutrient content, application rates and application methods to ensure optimum benefit from the manure. A worksheet is provided for calculating application rates.
This publication offers fertilizer suggestions for a variety of crops, including field, pasture and hay crops, tree fruit, small fruit, ornamental plants and vegetable crops.
Phosphorus (P) is the second most important nutrient in crop production but is often found in relatively low amounts in native soils. Decades of fertilizer application have led to P enrichment of most North Carolina agricultural soils. Excess soil P that leaves agricultural fields via runoff and drainage can cause algal blooms in water resources that lead to impaired drinking water quality and can limit recreational activities. Maintaining adequate soil P levels for crop growth can reduce P runoff, save money, and protect the environment
This factsheet provides general guidelines for obtaining soil samples in Christmas tree fields, a summary of soil test result categories, and information for evaluating those results to develop an efficient Christmas tree fertilization program.
This publication provides updated recommendations for phosphorus fertilizer application in corn, soybean, and small grains crops. It includes background and historical information about phosphorus critical levels, phosphorus rate recommendations, phosphorus accumulation in soils, and changes in recommendations.
Adequate sulfur is necessary for crops, but there’s no one-size-fits-all recommendation for application in North Carolina. Best management practices take sulfur removal and incidental sulfur inputs for the entire crop rotation, soil type and profile depth layers and soil and plant analysis results.
This publication provides nitrogen and potassium fertilizer recommendations for optimum floral hemp yield and cannabidiol production while also understanding how nutrient rates affect THC production.
This factsheet explains how proper land application of municipal biosolids can protect public health and maintain or improve environmental quality and it encourages the beneficial use of wastes.
This factsheet provides information on how to keep a lawn healthy and attractive and how to protect the environment by reducing runoff and trapping pollutants. Fertilizer facts and rates, a mowing guide, and watering recommendations are included.
This Soybean Nutrient Deficiency Information factsheet describes the symptoms and management of nitrogen deficiency in soybean production in North Carolina.
Nitrogen fertilizer products are being developed and marketed as having the potential to increase yields and nutrient use efficiency, and decrease volatilization (gas). How do these products actually perform on different soils and row crops, under various climatic conditions? This publication summarizes findings from recent studies that investigated alternative nitrogen fertilizer products for row crops in four North Carolina regions.
This publication discusses the Realistic Yield Expectations database as a resource for nitrogen fertilization rate decisionmaking. Topics include recent research and the resulting updates to the database for improved nitrogen fertilizer rates based on new yield data.
This Soybean Nutrient Deficiency Information factsheet describes the symptoms and management of phosphorus deficiency in soybean production in North Carolina.
This publication helps farmers decide whether to reduce fertilization rates in order to achieve maximum profits due to increases in nitrogen fertilizer prices.
This publication provides recommendations for managing essential nutrient concentrations when growing organic tobacco in the field.
Fertilizer burn can occur to the soybean seed from an in-furrow application and to the foliage from a foliar application. An in-furrow application can cause salt injury or ammonium toxicity to the soybean seed. Fertilizer is somewhat rarely applied to soybeans over-the-crop, however if it is done fertilizer burn can occur depending on source and concentration. This factsheet discusses the symptoms and management of fertilizer burn.
This publication provides recommendations for managing essential nutrient concentrations when growing organic tobacco in greenhouses using a float system.
Under the proposed Lake Jordan Rules, the Basin Oversight Committee (BOC) is tasked with submitting agricultural information on a yearly basis. Unfortunately, some of this information, such as fertilizer rates, is based on best professional judgment; there are no fertilizer-use statistics that are reliable. In addition, best management practices (BMPs) are only captured if they are cost shared. To obtain a better estimate of agricultural practices, this one-time statistically valid area sampling frame was applied to agricultural fields in the Lake Jordan River Basin in order to collect an agricultural baseline of cropping systems, soil types and currently used best management practices, livestock types and numbers, and producer information. In summary, when all the data are combined, it appears that producers in the Lake Jordan River Basin are minimizing environmental impact of nutrient and soil losses from agricultural fields due to the types of cropping systems used and under fertilization of most crops. Nutrient inputs generally are below recommended levels. Best management practices, primarily buffers are being used, as well as cover crops and conservation tillage; however, more could be installed. Cattle numbers could be reduced.
