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The effect of interval between harvests and nitrogen application on the concentration of nitrate-nitrogen in the total herbage, green leaf and ‘stem’ of grasses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

D. Wilman  and
P. T. Wright
D. Wilman
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth
P. T. Wright
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth
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Summary

The effect of six intervals between harvests and three levels of N application on the concentration of nitrate-N and total N in total herbage, green leaf and ‘stem’ was studied in two varieties of perennial ryegrass during 30-week periods in each of the first two harvest years of a field experiment. The effect of two intervals between harvests on the concentration of nitrate-N in Italian ryegrass total herbage was studied in the same experiment. The effect of two intervals between harvests and three levels of N application on the concentrations of nitrate-N and total N in total herbage was studied in five grasses during a 32-week period in a second field experiment.

Increasing the interval between harvests tended to increase the concentration of nitrate-N in herbage; however, this seemed due mainly to the average date of harvest being later in the year with the longer intervals. The concentration of nitrate-N in herbage increased from June to September. Italian and hybrid ryegrass and tall fescue were much higher than perennial ryegrass in nitrate-N concentration at the highest level of applied N (525 kgN/ha per year). Apart from the species and time of year effects, the nitrate-N concentration seemed to be determined mainly by the amount of N applied divided by the number of days between the date of application and the date of sampling. The ‘stem’ of perennial ryegrasa tended to be slightly higher in nitrate-N concentration than green leaf. The proportion of nitrate-N in total N was increased by increasing the interval between harvests and by applying N and was nearly twice as high in ‘stem’ as in green leaf. Both the nitrate-N and the total N concentration of herbage, particularly the latter, seemed to be inversely related to solar radiation receipt.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 106 , Issue 3 , June 1986 , pp. 467 - 475
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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