The Missouri River was out of its banks for several months and this has an impact on the availability of crop nutrients. First of all, when soils are saturated, they are in reduced state, so chemically, the phosphorus levels if tested immediately after draining will be miss-leading. One should test soils after soils dry and return to normal moisture levels. Readings of comparison samples of the Graves Chapple before and after indicate a higher phosphorus soil test value.
Fallow Syndrome is another issue that may be found in flooded soils. Often the syndrome shows as a classic phosphorus deficiency symptom when the corn crop planted. It would be advisable to add phosphorus fertilizer even on high testing soils to help crop growth. One reason for this symptom is the loss of vescular arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM), a fungi that forms an addition to the crop root system, that takes up nutrients for use by crop plants. An example of the fungi is the yellow fine roots of a corn plant that quickly fade after being exposed to sunlight. The yellow color is colonized by the mycorrhizae.
Also, there have been several questions regarding the white material that was deposited on some fields. I ran a couple of tests, one at a standard depth of six inches and another of the surface one-inch depth.
The white surface contains calcium which would be typical of where the water came from. Soils to west of Missouri are generally alkaline and soils in Missouri and eastward are acidic. Also, there is sodium, which was measured by electrical conductivity. The data would indicate that mixing this into the soil to dilute this layer would be ideal.
For more information, contact Wayne Flanary at 660-425-6434 or Heather Benedict at 660-425-6434, Regional Agronomists, University of Missouri Extension.
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