Nitrogen fertilization of grass seed crops as related to soil mineral nutrition.

Abstract

The relationship between the level of soil mineral N present in early spring and the economically optimum application rate of N fertilizer was investigated in field experiments in 1978-84 at 4 locations in the Netherlands with Lolium perenne, Poa pratensis and Festuca rubra. Spring dressings, as split and single applications, of 30-210 kg N/ha and autumn dressings of 0-90 kg N/ha were used. The optimum spring rates were linearly related to mineral N in the 0-90 cm soil layers in L. perenne. No such relationship existed for the other species. The economically optimum spring N rates were 110 and 84 kg/ha, and yields were highest with autumn N dressings of 60 and 30 kg/ha for P. pratensis and F. rubra, resp. Autumn dressing had no effect on L. perenne if the spring dressing was near or above the optimum. A split spring dressing produced greater vegetative regrowth and reduced yields. Seed yield responses to fertilization were related to number of inflorescences produced rather than weight of seed per inflorescence. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)