Effects of Seeding Rate and Nitrogen Application on Tall Fescue Seed Production

Seeding rate and N fertilization are basic managements for tall fescue ( Lolium arundinaceum Schreb.) seed production. Limited information is available on turf‐ and forage‐type tall fescue responses of seed yield and yield components to seeding rate, N rate, N timing, and their interactions. We evaluated two seeding rates (3 and 9 kg ha –1 ), four N rates (90, 140, 190, and 240 kg ha –1 ), and two N timing treatments (one‐third of the annual N applied in autumn+two‐thirds applied the following spring and two‐thirds of the annual N applied in autumn+one‐third applied the following spring) on two tall fescue cultivars: Justice (a turf‐type) and Dovey (a forage‐type) for their effects on seed yield and yield components. Higher seed yields were obtained for turf‐type Justice at the higher seeding rate of 9 kg ha –1 or when more N was applied in autumn than in spring. Of the five seed‐yield components, fertile tillers per square meter of both cultivars were most closely correlated with seed yield. Increasing N application rate or applying more N in autumn resulted in more fertile tillers. These results suggest that 3 kg ha –1 is a sufficient seeding rate for high seed yield of forage‐type tall fescues. Nitrogen rates and timing, however, need to be adjusted to types and cultivars; turf‐type Justice required 190 kg N ha –1 with two‐thirds applied in autumn for highest seed yield whereas cultivar Dovey seed yield was optimized with 140 kg N ha –1 , without a significant effect of N timing.