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Brome fertility plot resultsBy David G. Hallauer Meadowlark District Extension Agent, crops and soils, horticulture Research on bromegrass fertility over the years has commonly shown that a fall fertilizer application will, in most years, be advantageous over a spring application. For one, it gets necessary nutrients into the root zone so they are available come spring. We also tend to get hit less often with weather conditions that limit application by applying in the fall, so there's less chance of that late fertilizer application that is often less efficient. A number of brome fertility plots across Northeast Kansas this year have again taken a look at fall vs. spring fertilization at different nitrogen and phosphorous rates. A full summary will be available at a later date, but results from the three sites here in the Meadowlark Extension District will be pretty typical. The first trend we saw is that more nitrogen equals more yield. Our treatments varied N rates from 0 to 120 pounds per acre, and as a general rule the higher N rates resulted in the highest yields, whether applied fall or spring. The second visible difference came not from N rates, but P. Seven of the top nine yielding treatments (the top three from each of three plots) were treatments that included 30 pounds of P in addition to the N rate. This should not be surprising, based on the fact that soil test results from two of the three sites indicated a need for anywhere from 25 to 50 pounds of phosphate. This is also very consistent with soil tests we see on a regular basis from our forages. Phosphorous levels continue to decline, a challenge we will continue to have as fertilizer prices remain high. Special thanks to Chris McClelland in Jefferson, Gary Sawyer in Jackson County, and Ed Key in Nemaha County for hosting the plots. A complete set of results will be available Oct. 1 from any District Office or on the web at www.meadowlark.ksu.edu. 9/22/08 Date: 9/18/08
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