Fertilizing Forage Grasses for Seed Production
Project Objectives: The objective of this project was to compare the benefits of using coated fertilizer products to non-coated products on forage grasses grown for seed and to demonstrate if field scale coated fertilizers will increase yields when applied directly after harvest.
Project Rationale: The project need was raised by producers who are members of the SFSDC Board of Directors.
Nitrogen fertilizer increases seed yield of perennial grasses by increasing the number of seed-forming tillers (Kruger 1997). Timing of nitrogen application is important because many perennial grasses need nitrogen to ensure there are a number of well developed tillers present prior to induction of flowering tillers which can occur in the fall (Loeppky and Coulman 2001).
Fertilizing_Forage_Grasses_Seed_Production.pdf