Herbage production and transformations of the fertilizer nitrogen in irrigated tanzania grass.

Author(s)

Geraldo Bueno Martha Júnior

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Piracicaba.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC)
• Defense date: 2003-07-28

Examining board members

Moacyr Corsi; Valdo Rodrigues Herling; Manuel Claudio Motta Macedo; Carlos Guilherme Silveira Pedreira; Luis Roberto de Andrade Rodrigues

• Advisor: Moacyr Corsi

Abstract

Whilst grazing management is a key component in pastoral systems little effort has been made to determine the adequate grazing intensity for tropical pastures, especially under irrigated conditions. The economical attractiveness of irrigated pasture systems depends on high pasture productivity, meaning that fertilizer nitrogen (N) must be used. However, to make effective changes toward sustainable N management, an understanding of the balance between N inputs and outputs and the efficiency of N cycling and transformation within the grassland system is required. In this context, seven experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of post-grazing residue or nitrogenous fertilizer levels on herbage production and on fertilizer-N recovery in irrigated Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania pasture. The post-grazing residue for irrigated, N-fertilized Tanzania grass pasture during the winter, considering a 36-day grazing cycle, should be around 1900 to 2100 kg/ha of green dry matter. During the spring/summer seasons the residual stubble mass should be around 1700 to 2700 kg/ha of green dry matter. This management ensured that leaf production and leaf/stem ratio were close to the maximum. A plot-size of 1 m 2 , with a tussock of the grass in its geometric center, was adequate to study 15 N-fertilizer recovery irrespective of grazing intensity and season of the year. Increasing the grazing intensity resulted in decreased tussock mass. The smaller the tussock mass the greater was the reliance on fertilizer-N. The combination of high soil water content, lack of rainfall in the day following fertilization and high temperature determined low urea- 15 N recovery in the soil-plant system (< 35% of applied N) and high ammonia volatilization losses (> 40% of applied N) at fertilizations levels higher than 80 kg N/ha during the summer. The absorption of ammonia volatilized from urea applied to soil varied from 2.5% (120 kg N/ha) to 16.4% (40 kg N/ha) of the volatilized nitrogen. With fertilizations lower than 60 kg N/ha it was observed sub-optimal N nutrition and a trend of higher 13 C discrimination during the summer. (AU)