Native Warm-Season Grass Response to Nitrogen Fertilization

The identification of appropriate nitrogen (N) rates for native warm-season grasses (NWSG) is needed to inform forage management in the southeastern United States. Experiments were conducted in Knoxville and Springfield, TN, from 2015 to 2019, to evaluate dry matter (DM) yield, forage nutritive valu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agronomy (Basel) 2024-01, Vol.14 (1), p.180
Main Authors: Bisangwa, Eric, Richwine, Jonathan D., Keyser, Patrick D., Ashworth, Amanda J., Walker, Forbes R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Andropogon gerardii
big bluestem
Biomass energy
Carbon
Coastal plains
Dry matter
dry matter yield
eastern gamagrass
Fertilization
Forage
forage nutritive value
Grasses
native warm-season grass
Nitrogen
Nutritive value
Panicum virgatum
Precipitation
Productivity
Soil fertility
Summer
Temperature
Temperature dependence
Tripsacum dactyloides
Urea
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:The identification of appropriate nitrogen (N) rates for native warm-season grasses (NWSG) is needed to inform forage management in the southeastern United States. Experiments were conducted in Knoxville and Springfield, TN, from 2015 to 2019, to evaluate dry matter (DM) yield, forage nutritive value (FNV), the influence of temperature and precipitation on yield, and partial factor productivity (PFP) responses. Three NWSG species (big bluestem [BB; Andropogon gerardii Vitman], switchgrass [SG; Panicum virgatum L.], and eastern gamagrass [EG; Tripsacum dactyloides L.]) were grown at each location and harvested twice annually. Five N rates in the form of urea were applied annually in split applications. The yields for all species responded positively to nitrogen (p < 0.001) and the time of harvest (p < 0.001) at both sites, except for BB yield at Springfield; no consistent N effects were observed over years. Nitrogen affected the FNV (p < 0.001) of all species, increasing CP by three to five percentage points (p < 0.001). Yields across all species and locations responded positively to precipitation (p < 0.001) and temperature (p < 0.001). A moderate N amendment (
ISSN:2073-4395
2073-4395
DOI:10.3390/agronomy14010180