Seasonal response of pasture to nitrogen fertilizer in the Mt. Lofty Ranges, South Australia

Abstract

Ammonium nitrate (0 to 200 kg ha-1 N) was applied to new areas of pure grass (Lolium perenne and Dactylis glomerata) and of mixed clover and grass (Trifolium subterraneum, L. perenne and D. glomerata) at monthly intervals from autumn (April) to late winter (August.) at a site in the Mt. Lofty Ranges, South Australia, and the pasture harvested 1 and 2 months after each application. As fertilizer applications were delayed, pasture yield responded increasingly to nitrogen. When 100 kg ha-1 was applied to grass, yield increases measured 2 months later ranged from 2 to 25 kg D.M. kg-1 N for the May and August applications respectively. Mixed pasture was less responsive than grass to later applications, because nitrogen suppressed the increasingly vigorous clover growth ; with 100 kg ha-1 N, response 2 months after the August application was 16 kg D.M. kg-1 N. Applied nitrate and ammonium disappeared rapidly from the top 30 cm of soil. Only after the May and June dressings, when rainfall was light, did significant quantities persist for one month. Some of the nitrogen loss was from leaching. Herbage harvested after two months accounted for 17 to 48 per cent of nitrogen applied at 100 kg ha-1, the largest recovery following the July dressing. The relatively small responses to high rates of nitrogen in mid winter indicate that other factors, possibly light energy, limited the potential growth of the pasture. The results suggest that nitrogen could be used either to increase the supply of grazing in early spring or the production of hay in late spring, especially where pastures lack clover.