Nitrogen watch for poorly- and somewhat poorly-drained soils
Poorly-drained soils lose N mainly by denitrification, which is very temperature-sensitive. My rule of thumb is that wet conditions in May and June cause denitrification losses, but losses in April are minimal.
Areas shown in cross-hatch are ‘danger areas’ that are on track to have 12 or more inches of rainfall from May 1 to June 30. This does not mean that significant loss of N has already happened, just that producers in these areas should be watchful and aware of the potential for N loss and deficiency.
