# Sticky  University of Georgia Fertilizer Calculator



## Vol

Here is a handy tool that was recommended by our member Bishop.

Regards, Mike

http://aesl.ces.uga.edu/soil/fertcalc/


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## hay wilson in TX

Interesting idea. Oklahoma had something like that 20 years ago but it did not work well for us.

Fertility recommendations are very site specific. So much depends on the chemistry used, the lab used, as well as the nature of the soils.

Here with our calcareous clay soils, we see distortions due to excessive calcium. An unusually high CEC creates further challenges.

What I find interesting is Nitrogen, HERE will persist for 4 or 5 seasons, while not that far away in their sandy soils nitrogen fertilizers start to fade in three weeks, and is practically gone in 6 weeks.
Just to be on the safe side our state cow college recommends fertilizing a hay crop after each cutting.

I would think the Georgia system would work just fine in the South East to at least as far as East Texas. Nevada might not like the odds of success, THERE.


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## slowzuki

Hay Wilson, I don't quite follow, the link I see is a convertor so you can compare types and grades of fertilizer to get to a specific lbs per acre.

The actual lbs per acre yes is very complicated per location and soil type. The fine particle size in clay does bind up a lot of nutrients and prevent it from leaving with water like sandy soils. Also makes changing the ph of it a tough job when deciding lime application rates.


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## hay wilson in TX

I may not be all that understandable.

What I am saying:

With my 8 pH soil a Bray or Morgan chemistry will mislead on phosphate.
With some acid soils My sodium bicarbonate chemistry will mislead on phosphate.

A blanket opinion that 200 ppm P is the ultimate bad can be totally wrong.

Our Texas resident Cow College suggest fertilizing hay with Nitrogen after each cutting. On our soil Nitrogen will persist for at least 5 years in a grass pasture or hay field.

How much potassium is enough in a soil that test a 50 CEC? Our tissue analysis suggest 400 or 500 ppm K is just adequate.

The beat goes on and on.


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## hay wilson in TX

Are you looking for a mix of N-P-K- &c
When I was a good bit younger some used 5-10-5 others used 8-8-8 in their vegetable garden. To the best of my knowledge they all worked. By the Korean War 16-20-0 was the magic. USDA intermitted us to use 0-0-20-0 on a legume, up to 300 lbs/A of material. I guess it worked. We all knew this soil did not NEED potash as our soil tested Excessive at 350 ppm. By the Viet Nam war we learned to use tissue analysis and found that was actually deficient! We dumped potash on alfalfa and it appeared to do something. 
Yields went from 2 T/A to a good year with 6 T/A. We now see yields from close to nothing to 7 T/A.
What proved to be important was a reasonable 34" of rain over the season. With good distribution. 
Some years all that rain falls in January and February then repeat again in October and November, that makes any fertility program just an exercise. 
Some years we see a reasonable 27" of rain and harvest 5 tons of alfalfa. Those years we feel we are a genius.
During the drought of the 50's the river was out of banks 5 times. 
Nothing is normal. 
Thirty years ago we were told anhydrous ammonia would kill the soil. Just to see I put 1,200 lbs of N using AA and it was a good year but nothing special. That little patch did not NEED any nitrogen for 7 seasons. 
In retrospect if we had put 500 lbs of potash with it every year, that nitrogen would have persisted for only 5 years but that grass hay would have waist deep several of those years. Include 200 lbs of 11-52-0 and that would the field probably would have needed fertilizer in 4 years.
Put more than 500 lbs of potash and the yield will go down. Put 500 lbs of 0-0-60 plus 1,500 lbs of K-Mag and the hay would have had so much K the hay would have qualified as a fertilizer.

I have been told by experts and certified authorities what to use little or no results. I have done not any better with my own half baked ideas and maybe had a record yield but also maybe not if the rains did not cooperate.
All in all it is an interesting way to make a living. 
Just not as interesting as flying around inside a B-52.

Have a Grand & Glorious Season.


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