Which Fertilizer Works Best for Corn?

Fast-growing corn needs lots of nitrogen.

Fast-growing corn needs lots of nitrogen.

There is no best, one-size-fits-all recommendation for fertilizing corn (Zea mays) that fits all soil conditions. Some soils contain more plant nutrients than others. The most accurate way to determine fertilizing needs for corn is to have your soil tested. Lacking a soil test, there are some general recommendations that apply to nitrogen-loving corn. Water-soluble granular fertilizer is most often recommended.

Fertilizing Basics

Corn is an annual that will grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 through 11. Corn is wind pollinated, so it’s better for the home gardener to plant three or four short rows of corn in a square or several plants in a hill or circle rather than one long row. If you fertilize in a square, hill or circle, then fertilizer recommendations in square feet are more useful than those for length of row. Always water the soil after you apply fertilizer.

Fertilizing Before Planting

If you don’t have your soil tested, work 6 pounds of water-soluble, granular 10-10-10 fertilizer into the top 6 inches of each 100 feet of corn row before you plant the seed. If you're calculating by square feet of garden, work 2 to 3 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer 3 to 4 inches deep for each 100 square feet before planting corn. For a larger plot of corn, till or plow 25 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer into the top 6 inches of 1,000 square feet.

Fertilizing Young Corn

When your plants have developed four or five fully expanded leaves, apply 1/2 to 3/4 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer no closer than 2 inches from the base of your plants and rake it into the top 2 inches of soil

Fertilizing Maturing Corn

Corn needs lots of nitrogen. Pale green leaves suggest a deficiency of nitrogen in corn. When corn plants have eight to 10 leaves, add 1/2 pound of urea, 46-0-0 fertilizer, to each 100 square feet of soil. Scatter the fertilizer 6 inches from the sides of your plants and water it into the soil. Repeat this with 3/4 pound of urea when your plants develop silk. Another way to address the high nitrogen need of corn is to add 1 1/2 pounds of ammonium nitrate, 34-0-0, for each 100 feet of row when the plants are 8 to 12 inches tall. Sprinkle this at least 2 inches from the base of the plants and rake it 2 inches deep into the soil.

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