Oats prefer side-banded nitrogen

WINNIPEG, Man. — Side-banding nitrogen and seed-placing phosphorus pays off for oat crops, new Saskatchewan research shows.

“We’ve determined that side-banding nitrogen is better for oat yields,” Brianne McInnes, operations manager for the Northeast Agriculture Research Foundation, said in an interview at the Prairie Oat Growers Association annual convention.

Side-banding rather than mid-row placement gave an average five bushel per acre yield boost, two years of studies on two sites each at two research farms showed.

For phosphorus, a 10 bu. per acre boost came from seed placement versus not placing any phosphorus. Side placement had low and variable results.

The tests were done at the Northeast Agriculture Research Foundation in Melfort with black soils and at a research farm near Scott with dark brown soils.

The Scott site was significantly affected by drought in the 2022 and 2023 years of the test. Dryness was less of a challenge at Melfort.