Evers, Gerald Wayne

Melson, N. B.

Parsons, Margaret J.

English

Texas A&amp;M Repository

    PUBLICATIONS 2004 PHOSPHORUS UPTAKE BY CRIMSON CLOVER-BERMUDAGRASS FERTILIZEDWITH BROILER LITTER AND NITROGEN FERTILIZERG. W. Evers, M. J. Parsons, and N. B. MelsonBackground. A disadvantage of only using broiler litter as a plant nutrient source is thatthe nitrogen(N):phosphorus(P) nutrient ratio in broiler litter does not match forage croprequirements. Although it can vary widely, the average N-P20S-K20 ratio in broiler litter in EastTexas is about 4:4:3. Because about 25% of the N in broiler litter is lost, the available nutrientratio is about 3:4:3. The N:P20 S:K20 uptake ratio is 4:1:3 for Coastal bermudagrass and 4:1:4 forannual ryegrass to reach 90% of maximum yield. This difference in nutrients applied vs. cropneeds results in the soil buildup of excess nutrients, especially P. Other research at Overton hasshown that applying commercial N fertilizer in combination with broiler litter increased yield andP uptake by an annual ryegrass-Coastal bermudagrass pasture. A similar study was carried outsubstituting Dixie crimson clover for annual ryegrass to determine if the clover could fixsufficient N from the air to eliminate the need for N fertilizer. Broiler litter was applied in lateApril after the last clover harvest, at 4 tons/acre in 1999 and 2000 and 2 tons/acre in 2001 and2002. Fifty Ib of N/acre were applied from 1 to 3 times in April, June, and/or July each year.Forage yield is reported in another paper in this handout. Results from 2001 and 2002 will bepresented in this paper since the 1999 and 2000 data were reported in the 2002 Overton Field Dayhandout.Research Findings. Little P was removed by the control treatment (no broiler litter or Nfertilizer) either year. In 2001 (Table I), there was no difference in P uptake by bermudagrass orthe total P uptake of bermudagrass and crimson clover. This is in agreement with the yield datasince there was no difference in yield among treatments fertilized with broiler litter. Phosphorusuptake by crimson clover in the April-June-July treatment was only 2 Ib/acre higher than thebroiler litter treatment with no N. In 2002, there were small differences in P uptake bybermudagrass or clover among treatments fertilized with broiler litter (Table 2). None of the Nfertilizer treatments increased P uptake over the broiler litter alone without N. Although applyingN fertilizer increased forage yield lout of 2 years, it did not enhance P uptake. Crimson cloverappears to have provided the bermudagrass with sufficient nitrogen that applying nitrogenfertilizer did not increase yield enough to increase phosphorus uptake.Application. When fertilizing warm-season perennial grasses like bermudagrass withbroiler litter, overseeding with crimson clover was as effective at removing excess P asoverseeding with annual ryegrass and applying 100 Ib N/acre. It is important that the broiler litter27be applied in late April to May after the clover growing period. If broiler litter is applied duringthe clover growing period, the clover will use N from the broiler litter instead of from the air.Therefore the amount of N contributed by the clover from the air through N2-fixation will bereduced.Table I. Phosphorus uptake of Dixie crimson clover and Coastal bermudagrass fertilized with 2sf fb'l r . A '12001 d 50 lb N/ hr d' hton acre 0 rOI er Itter lD ,-pn an acre one to t ee tImes unne: t e vear.50 Ib N/acre/month Bermuda Crimson Total--------------------------------------Plrlb/acre~-------------------------------------No BLt orN 2.9 bt 0.9 c 3.8 bBL,noN 23.2 a 9.9 b 33.1 aBL,Apr. 21.6 a 10.5 ab 32.1 aBL, June 22.3 a 9.8 b 32.1 aBL, July 20.3 a 10.1 ab 30.4 aBL, Apr., June 22.5 a 11.3 ab 33.8 aBL, Apr., July 21.6 a 11.2 ab 32.9 aBL, June, July 21.7 a 10.1 ab 31.8 aBL, Apr., June, July 21.6 a 11.8 a 33.4 atBroder lItter.tValues in a cnolume followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 0.05 level,Fisher's Protected LSD.Table 2. Phosphorus uptake of Dixie crimson clover and Coastal bermudagrass fertilized with 2sf fb·1 r . A ·12002 d 50 Ib N/ thr d . thton acre 0 rOl er Itter lD ,-pn an acre one to ee tunes unnj:t e year.50 Ib N/acre/month Bermuda Crimson Total--------------------------------------P (Ib/acre)-------------------------------------No BL or Nt 13.3 ct 8.4 c 21.6cBL, noN 27.2 a 11.8 ab 39.0 aBL,Apr. 22.0 b 11.6 ab 33.6 bBL, June 22.2 b 12.1 ab 34.4 bBL, July 23.7 ab 12.0 ab 35.7 abBL, Apr., June 23.6 ab 11.5 ab 35.0 bBL, Apr., July 26.1 a 12.8 a 38.9 aBL, June, July 23.7 ab 11.4 ab 35.2 bBL, Apr., June, July 22.3 b 10.9 b 33.2 btBroder lItter.tValues in a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 0.05 level,Fisher's Protected LSD.28

Phosphorus uptake by Crimson clover-bermudagrass fertilized with broiler litter and nitrogen fertilizer

Texas A&M University

https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/1969.1/189740/1/article74.pdf

Phosphorus uptake by Crimson clover-bermudagrass fertilized with broiler litter and nitrogen fertilizer

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Texas A&M Repository

Texas A&M University

Phosphorus uptake by Crimson clover-bermudagrass fertilized with broiler litter and nitrogen fertilizer

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Texas A&amp;M Repository

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M Repository