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Overseeding Novel-Endophyte Tall Fescue Cultivars in Bermudagrass Hay Fields Fertilized with Broiler Litter
Hypothesis:
A 12-month forage management system with perennial species using bermudagrass and a summer inactive tall fescue can equal the annual P, Zn, and Cu uptake of the more commonly used combination of bermudagrass and winter annual ryegrass in the Mid-South.
Experimentation:
Test tall fescue cultivars as winter perennial forage compatible with the commonly used summer perennial forage, bermudagrass in fields with poultry litter fertilization. The study sites are ‘Coastal’ bermudagrass hay meadows located at the MAFES Coastal Plains Experiment Station on a Ruston fine sandy loam soil and the MAFES Black Belt Experiment Station on a Brooksville silty clay soil. Field plots comprise three tall fescue cultivars overseeded in Fall in dormant bermudagrass. The three cultivars differ in season of growth (summer active vs summer inactive) and in presence or absence of the toxic endophyte. For a three year study, poultry litter is spring broadcasted at 0, 2.2, 4.5, and 9 Mg ha-1 plus a control plot is fertilized in spring and fall with ammonium nitrate at 112 kg ha-1 on plots (2 x 6m). Herbage is spring harvested (7 cm height) when the fescue is 25 cm height and summer bermudagrass is harvested on 35 d schedule. Measurements made at each harvest are forage dry matter accumulation and uptake of nine nutrient elements (N, P, K, Mg, Mn, Cu, Ca, Zn, and Fe). Multiple soil cores are pulled in every plot on April 1 for 0-30 cm depth. In March each year, measurements of fescue growth and plant density are made to determine if the cultivars differ in thinning/persistence over time. Regression analysis is performed to predict optimum fertilization rate for 12-month forage yield and tall fescue persistence.
Source:
Dr. John Read, Dennis Rowe, and Tim Fairbrother
USDA-Agricultural Research Service
Waste Management and Forage Research Unit
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