Soil Management Handbook - Ministry of Agriculture and Lands

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application rates have been in excess of crop demand or if manure is applied in the fall, then soil nitrate levels will be high to excessive. 5.3.3 Climate The climate of the Southern Interior of B.C. is characterized by relatively mild winter temperatures where soils are deeply frozen for a limited amount of time. Under these conditions, all mobile soil nutrients, such as nitrate, can be leached. Long term soil test data indicates that any nitrate levels in the root zone in the fall of the year are often higher than those found in the following spring. Although the situation differs markedly from the heavy precipitation and leaching that occurs in South Coastal B.C., nitrate leaching can be an important issue in some of the more humid parts of the region. 5.4 Practical Guidance on Land Application of Manure 5.4.1 January to February In most cases, manure application cannot be contemplated due to frozen soils and snow cover. If field access is possible, manure application should only be considered if there is a minimal chance of runoff during the spring breakup period. 5.4.2 March to May On annually cropped land, apply and immediately incorporate sufficient manure to supply up to 75% of the crop requirement for nitrogen. Do not attempt to completely fertilize the crop with manure. Excess manure will result in a high rate of nitrate production in the latter part of the growing season and after harvest when nutrient uptake is minimal. Supplement the manure with fertilizer at planting or sidedress time. 5.4.3 June to August If manure must be applied, in most cases it can be applied only to grassland due to the presence of actively growing crops on other lands. Manure nitrogen efficiency for grassland can be greatly increased by irrigation immediately following application, by manure injections or by application of very wet slurries (95% or higher). Application of additional fertilizer nitrogen to grassland should be fine-tuned according to the protein content of the forage. Research has shown that grasses with a protein level of 20% or more have a high probability of nitrate accumulation and/or high levels of rumen-degradable nitrogen compounds. Although manure cannot be applied to annual crops during this period, crops can be supplemented with fertilizer nitrogen. Since limited correlation testing has been completed in the interior, a late spring soil test (also known as Pre-sidedress Nitrogen Test) has been found to be useful in some regions for indicating if additional nitrogen is required. The test is used for forage corn. The critical range is 20 to 30 ppm NO3-N in the plow layer (0 to 30 cm) measured when the corn is about 30 cm (typically mid-June). Soils below this range are usually deficient in nitrogen and require supplementation before the crops will achieve adequate yields. Soils above this range will generally supply all of the crops' nitrogen requirements. (Refer to Nitrogen Guidelines for Silage Corn in the North Okanagan, prepared by the North Okanagan Soil Conservation Group.) 5.4.4 September to October Because of frozen soils and low winter precipitation, winter losses of nitrate due to leaching are minimal in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. Therefore, a high percentage of any nitrate left in the root zone following harvest will be retained for subsequent crops. A fall or spring soil test will assist producers to take advantage of nitrogen from manure and reduce the need for fertilizer nitrogen. However, in some of the more humid parts of the region, nitrate leaching can be a problem. If manure must be applied during this period, it should be restricted to grasslands that are well drained and not subject to flooding or runoff. Grasses are still actively growing and their roots will capture much of the nitrate and prevent leaching. Even so, only 40% of the annual allowable application should be spread in the fall and winter periods. 5.4.5 November and December With the onset of winter, soils cool to the point where there is very little nitrate produced in the root zone. However, many soils are now too wet to allow ready access for spreading without causing severe soil compaction. In most cases, manure application cannot be contemplated due to frozen soil and snow cover. If Soil Management Handbook – Okanagan-Similkameen Valleys 81
field access is possible, manure application should only be considered if there is a minimal chance of runoff during the spring breakup period. Some areas of the South Okanagan and Similkameen may be suitable for winter spreading because there is a low risk of runoff or flooding during spring thaw.
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Soil Management Handbook For The Ok
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Preface The Soil Management Handboo
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Table Of Contents Preface..........
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Table of Contents Con't. Page 3.6 D
Page 10 and 11:
List Of Soil Management Groups And
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List Of Tables Table1: Farm Conserv
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To obtain information about the soi
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List of Definitions for Table 1 Con
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Well Suited Crops • All necessary
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Soil Depth refers to the depth to e
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Grapes: grape suitability is strong
Page 25 and 26:
Soil Management Groups This section
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Gammil Soil Management Group Soil S
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Greata Soil Management Group Soil S
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Kelowna Soil Management Group Soil
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Munson Soil Management Group Soil S
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Postill Soil Management Group Soil
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Rumohr Soil Management Group Soil S
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Skaha Soil Management Group Soil Se
Page 41 and 42:
Summerland Soil Management Group So
Page 43 and 44: Miscellaneous Soils Soil Series: Ar
Page 45 and 46: Soil Management Guide This section
Page 47 and 48: Table 5 Soil Particle Size and Char
Page 49 and 50: Table 6 Physical Characteristics of
Page 51 and 52: plant roots and organic matter. The
Page 53 and 54: The bulk density of high organic mi
Page 55 and 56: Other management practices, such as
Page 57 and 58: Figure 11 Schematic drawing of the
Page 59 and 60: 1 m, etc., in an orchard block wher
Page 61 and 62: 3. Water Management High rainfall d
Page 63 and 64: Table 12 Availability Coefficients
Page 65 and 66: Impact of large drops of water disp
Page 67 and 68: The single most important soil fact
Page 69 and 70: land. Drainage systems are also nec
Page 71 and 72: Detailed information is provided in
Page 73 and 74: Table 16 Generalized Soil Profile D
Page 75 and 76: Table 17 Drain Recommendations Base
Page 77 and 78: is very susceptible to structure de
Page 79 and 80: vertically into the soil and as it
Page 81 and 82: Figure 19 Schematic drawing of the
Page 83 and 84: Case 1: Well Structured Soils If th
Page 85 and 86: fracture requires the soil to expan
Page 87 and 88: "tie up" some soil nitrogen, althou
Page 89 and 90: efer to the following Factsheets: S
Page 91 and 92: contaminate groundwater. Water cont
Page 93: Table 18 N, P and K Content of Vari
Page 97 and 98: Annual or permanent cover will redu
Page 99 and 100: agricultural production, its impact
Page 101 and 102: References Published Sources Agricu
Page 103 and 104: Stevenson, D.S. and Brownlee, C.H.
Page 105 and 106: Appendix A-2 Figure 2 Typical summe
Page 107 and 108: Appendix A-4 fall frost. The angle
Page 109 and 110: Appendix A-6 Abbreviations Used in
Page 111 and 112: Appendix B: Soil Series And Locatio
Page 113 and 114: Greata Soil Management Group Greata
Page 115 and 116: Postill Soil Management Group Eanea
Page 117 and 118: Miscellaneous Soils Armstrong (A:er
Page 119: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT B.C
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Soil Management Handbook - Ministry of Agriculture and Lands

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