Colorado Agriscience Curriculum Development
Section: Plant and Soil Science
Unit: Environmental Factors
Lesson Number: 10
Lesson Title: Methods of Nutrient Application
Agriculture Education Standards:
AS 11/12.2-7
AS 11/12.4-6
Colorado Science Standard:
Student Learning Objectives/Enablers
As a result of this lesson, the student will. . .
1. understand fertilizer placement.
2. ID fertilizer application methods.
Time: Instruction time for this lesson: 50 minutes.
Resources:
Agriscience Fundamentals and applications, Cooper and Burton
Introduction to Horticulture, Schroeder/Seagle/Felton/Ruter/Kelley/Krewer
Tools, Equipment, and Supplies
PowerPoint
Assessment
Key Terms: The following terms are presented in this lesson and appear in bold italics:
Broadcasting
Leaching
Fixation
Topdressing
Side Dressing
Fertigation
Interest Approach
Draw out the players on a field or court similar to what a coach would do when drawing up
plays for his team. Discuss the importance of where the players are on the playing field or the
court. Discuss the types of players that might play certain positions. Taller players for centers
etc. Bigger players for linemen type positions. Transition this discussion into just as it is
important for the fight players to be placed in the correct positions it is also just as important
for correct type of fertilizer to used and placed in the correct position to be most beneficial to a
plant.
PowerPoint to help with following
Many fertilizer types and blends used improve quality and quantity of crops. Each crop has
specific fertilizer needs. Fertilizer materials that yield maximum returns must be used.
Various crops respond differently to fertilizer application and also to soils in which is grown.
Knowledge of proper application is essential but insufficient. One also must be aware of
optimum application times for crops. Fertilizer materials are applied before planting, during
planting, or during crop growth. Crop type, climatic conditions, soil type, and available
moisture are important factors that aid in making proper decisions as to optimum application
time.
Objective 1: As a result of this lesson, the student will understand fertilizer placement.
Availability of applied nutrients to plants depends on fertilizer application methods used. For
example, spraying phosphate solutions on soil or broadcasting phosphate and mixing it in soil
may cause fixation. Phosphorus unites with hydrated iron oxides in acid soils and calcium in
alkaline soils causing the phosphorus is used during the year it is applied.
An improper fertilizer application may result in a complete loss of the applied plant food
nutrient. If fertilizer is not in reach of plant roots and not dissolved by moisture in soil. It is
considered a loss to plants.
Object 2: As a result of this lesson, the student will id fertilizer application methods.
In a process called banding, fertilizer is placed near seed. Banding usually is used for
fertilizer row crops. The fertilizer band is placed about two inches below and to the sides of
the seed to keep from injuring the seedling.
In a banding type called side dressing, fertilizer is placed near the soil surface and to the sides
of the plants. Refer to illustration at left. Side dressing usually is used when applying nitrogen
and potassium fertilizers as a second application and after the plant emerges. Side dressing
reduces plant nutrient loss by leaching. This method is used during favorable soil moisture
conditions.
Topdressing is applying a second application of fertilizer to the soil surface. This method is
used for crops such as small grains, legumes, and grasses. Topdressing these crops serves the
same purpose that side dressing serves row crops.
Broadcasting differs from banding in that the total cropland area is covered with fertilizer
rather than fertilizer being concentrated in a band. Broadcasting is used most commonly to
apply fertilizer to pasture crops but may be used for field crops such as rice. Dry, granular, and
pelleted fertilizers are broadcast by tractor-drawn spreaders, spin-type broadcasters, or aerial
equipment (airplane or helicopter). Aerial applications usually are made on cropland when
field conditions are unfavorable for ground machinery. Nitrogen fertilizers are applied
efficiently by broadcasting. However, phosphorus fertilizers that are broadcast on fine-textured
soils tend to become fixed if they are not disked into soil.
Applying fertilizers in irrigation water is an old practice. Nitrogen and potassium fertilizers in
are applied effectively in this manner if they are completely mixed in water that is to be
uniformly distributed on cropland. Fertigation is most efficient in sprinkler-type irrigation
systems.
Sprays have been used for many years to apply fertilizers to plant leaves. Foliage feeding is
satisfactory when trace elements are needed immediately or when nutrients must be applied to
sandy soils. Foliage spraying is a popular practice on citrus and ornamental crops.
Nitrogen is applied to many soils prior to planting by injecting anhydrous ammonia under
pressure at about six-inch soil depth. Tractor-drawn applicators are used for applying gaseous
ammonia.
Application
Extended Classroom Activity:
1. Have students use the above mentioned methods on test
plots of crop plants. Compare results.
2. Have students use foliar applications on canned nursery
specimens and observe and record their findings.
a. Different combinations can be used, both amounts
of nutrients and types of elements.
b. Can also vary the time of applications, that is,
time of day when applied and stage of growth of
the plants.
FFA Activity
Encourage students to be involved in the state horticulture CDE’s
SAE Activity
Students can take the Extended Classroom Activity one step further by writing a paper on the
results and developing a theory about those results. This can be used as any experimental
SAE.
Evaluation
(PSS. Unit 5 Lesson 10 Assess)
Answers to Assessment:
1. Fixation of Phosphorus, a major plant nutrient, results if fertilizer containing this
nutrient is not mixed into the soil during application.
2. Side dressing is a process whereby fertilizer is placed near the soil surface and to the
sides of plants.
3. Banding places fertilizer about two inches below and to the sides of seed.
4. Broadcasting fertilizer can be performed by airplane or helicopter.
5. Fertigation is the process of applying fertilizer in irrigation water.
Fertilizer Placement and Application Test
Unit 5
Lesson 10
NAME___________________
1. Fixation of_________________, a major plant nutrient, results if fertilizer
containing this nutrient is not mixed into the soil during application.
2. ___________________ is a process whereby fertilizer is placed near the
soil surface and to the sides of plants.
3. ______________________ places fertilizer about two inches below and to
the sides of seed.
4. _________________ fertilizer can be performed by airplane or helicopter.
5. Fertigation is the process of applying fertilizer in __________________.