(Radio Iowa) – Some farmers in northwest Iowa saw wind driven fires rush across their fields this past weekend. Iowa State University Extension field agronomist Leah Ten Napel) says the damage to fields will vary. “There’s a lot of factors that are going to play into the consequences per each field. But I would say a lot of growers aren’t going to see too big of an impact when it comes to the upcoming planting season,” she says.
There weren’t any crops in the fields, but Ten Napel says there are concerns about the impact on nutrients for upcoming crops. “As far as nutrients like nitrogen and sulfur, those do volatilize at very high temperatures. So if you had any of that sitting on the surface when there was a fire, that will be gone at this point,” she says.
Ten Napel says early applications could be safe. “If you applied some P&K fertilizers last fall, hopefully the moisture that we received over the winter or any crop residue that had some breakdown over the winter, those nutrients go into the soil and then they are not susceptible to loss when that fire occurs” Ten Napel says. Ten Napel says anyone with concerns can call the local I-S-U Extension office to get their questions answered.
