What’s That Green Spot? A Check Plot
Every year, Growers Mineral, Corp. receives a photograph from a GMS customer who figured out that a spot in the field shows an improvement in growth. This occurrence usually happens during a time when there is significant stress to the crop. The GMS customer responsible for the photograph above tells Growers Mineral, Corp. that the area of improved crop growth is occurring where a recent high calcium (Ca) limestone pile was placed for spreading.
GMS customers find this event interesting because they realize that the volume of applied high Ca limestone is higher where the pile is, since it is very difficult to clean up the material left from the pile. In some cases, the area may show plant regression if the area was compacted by wet conditions or the limestone was dolomite rather than high Ca lime. However, in most cases, if the lime was spread in dry conditions and the lime is high Ca in content, the high volume of material shows an improvement of plant growth. Many GMS customers refer to this spot as a check plot.
Incidentally, this customer's GMS sales representative suggested that the customer "hot wire" the improved area to keep out the wildlife that will graze the area heavily due to the increased sugar production of the crop.
This is an excerpt from the Early Fall Growers Solution (2020) written by Bruce Stephens and Jim Halbeisen.
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