Welcome to the

North Dakota Wheat Nitrogen Calculator

You will need to know the location of the farm, the general productivity of the soils,
the price you contract for wheat, the cost per pound of N, the soil test nitrate-N
to a depth of 2-feet, and the previous crop.

Please select the location of the farm. The map of North Dakota on this site will help you determine the region of the farm. Click on the map for a detailed view.
Map of North Dakota wheat Nitrogen recommendation regions

Eastern North Dakota
Western North Dakota
Langdon Region





Please select the historical productivity of the farm from the options below.

Low Productivity
Medium Productivity
High Productivity

Select Nearest Wheat Price
($/bushel)

Select Nearest N Cost
(cents/lb)

Nitrogen Recommendation Before Credits:


Please indicate the amount of nitrates in the soil. (Enter the analysis result in the box.)

Soil test for Nitrogen analysis
(lbs/acre 2-ft depth)

Please indicate the crop previously planted in the field.

No Nitrogen-supplying crop
Soybean, Field Pea, Dry Bean, Lentil, Chickpea, or harvested Sweet Pea
Sugarbeet with yellow-green leaves
Sugarbeet with green leaves
Harvested Alfalfa or unharvested Sweet Clover (› 5 plants/sq-ft)
Harvested Alfalfa or unharvested Sweet Clover (3-4 plants/sq-ft)
Harvested Alfalfa or unharvested Sweet Clover (1-2 plants/sq-ft)
Harvested Alfalfa or unharvested Sweet Clover (‹ 1 plants/sq-ft)

Nitrogen provided by previous crops:


Please indicate the previous tilling method used in the field.

Is the field/area conventionally tilled (chisel and/or disc, and/or field cultivator or plow)?
Has the field/area been in No-till for 1 to 5 years?
Has the field/area been in No-till for more than 5 years?



Please indicate the percent of organic matter in the soil. (Enter the percentage in the box.)
(If soil organic matter exceeds 5.9%, please type in the soil organic matter value. If 5.9% or less, please leave blank.)

Organic matter
%




Nitrogen recommendation:


plus/minus 30 lbs. N
The final Nitrogen recommendation is the average optimal rate. Growers may choose to apply up to 30 lb N/acre more or less than the calculated N rates due to protein traits of a variety, special soil conditions such as susceptibility to spring denitrification, application techniques that may not be most efficient or historical experiences from the field or part of a field that may influence N uptake and efficiency. For wheat after small grains, we assume about 2,000 lb/acre of straw residue. For every 2,000 lb/acre straw greater than this, add 30 lb N/acre.



Site designed by Matti Kariluoma for Dr. Dave Franzen, NDSU Department of Soil Science.
Created August 2009. Last revised November 2009.

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