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Effect of season and previous seasonal fertilizer N application rates on the response of an S.24 perennial ryegrass/white clover sward to fertilizer N

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

R. Marsh
Affiliation:
Agricultural ResearchInstitute of N. Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down
F. J. Gordon
Affiliation:
Agricultural ResearchInstitute of N. Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down
J. C. Murdoch
Affiliation:
Agricultural ResearchInstitute of N. Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down
W. E. G. Stevenson
Affiliation:
Biometrics Division, Department of Agriculture, Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5PX

Summary

The effect of season of harvest and previous seasonal applications of fertilizer N on the response of perennial ryegrass/white clover swards to pre-cut applications of fertilizer N was studied in three consecutive years on different sites. Herbage D.M. yield responded in a curvilinear manner to increased pre-cut N application rates. There was a tendency in all experiments for the marginal response of herbage D.M. to increased pre-cut N application rates to decrease as previous seasonal fertilizer N application rates increased. Although the effect of season of harvest on the response of herbage D.M. to pre-cut N application rates varied with site/years, it was concluded that the marginal response of herbage D.M. to pre-cut N application rate varies little throughout the greater part of the growing season. The exceptions to this are the very early and late harvests and swards that receive low supplies of N from the sward/soil complex. The results are discussed in relation to other published data and to their possible use in the control of the seasonal pattern and total seasonal supply of herbage D.M. for rotational grazing management systems.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1976

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