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Impact of Phosphorus from Dairy Manure and Commercial Fertilizer on Perennial Grass Forage Production
Author(s) -
Mikhailova E. A.,
Cherney J. H.,
Cherney D. J. R.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of agronomy and crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.095
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1439-037X
pISSN - 0931-2250
DOI - 10.1046/j.1439-037x.2003.00045.x
Subject(s) - dactylis glomerata , fertilizer , agronomy , perennial plant , forage , phosphorus , manure , festuca arundinacea , zoology , randomized block design , nutrient , poaceae , biology , chemistry , organic chemistry , ecology
Increased recovery and recycling of manure phosphorus (P) by crops on dairy farms is needed to minimize environmental problems. The main objective of this study was to compare P utilization by orchardgrass ( Dactylis glomerata L.) and tall fescue ( Festuca arundinaceae Schreb.) from dairy manure or inorganic fertilizer. The study was conducted from 1994 to 2000 at the Cornell University Baker Farm, Willsboro, NY, on a somewhat poorly drained Kingsbury clay (very–fine, illitic, mesic Aeric Epiaqualfs). The design was a split‐plot in a randomized complete block with two manure rates (16 800 and 33 600 kg ha −1 ) and one nitrogen (N) fertilizer rate (84 kg N ha −1 at spring greenup and 56 kg N ha −1 prior to each regrowth harvest) as the main plots and grass species as subplots replicated six times. Fertilizer P [Ca(H 2 PO 4 ) 2 ] was applied to the fertilizer treatment in 1995 and 1996 at 11 kg P ha −1 year −1 . Orchardgrass P removal averaged 21 % higher than tall fescue P removal for the spring harvest, but orchardgrass averaged 24 % lower P removal than tall fescue removal for all regrowth harvests from 1995–99. Phosphorus herbage concentration in the fertilizer treatment was in the range of 1.9–2.7 g P kg −1 compared with 2.2–5.3 g P kg −1 in the manure treatments. Seasonal P removal ranged from as low as 9.2 kg P ha −1 to as high as 48.5 kg P ha −1 . Morgan extractable soil P in the top 0–0.20 m remained high through 1999, with 29.1 kg P ha −1 at the highest manure rate in tall fescue compared with 8.4 kg P ha −1 measured in 1993 prior to the experiment. In 2000, soil P at the highest manure rate in tall fescue dropped to 10.1 kg P ha −1 , following cessation of manure application in 1998. Intensively managed harvested orchardgrass and tall fescue have the potential to remove large quantities of manure P.