Effect of high rates of nitrogen fertiliser on white clover growth, morphology, and nitrogen fixation activity in grazed dairy pasture in northern New Zealand

Harris, S.L.; Clark, D. A.

doi:10.1080/00288233.1996.9513173

Cited by 48 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…only in the late spring summer-autumn period when clover growth was potentially more active, was it affected by N fertiliser. The depression in clover production at this time was most likely not a direct one of N fertiliser on the legume plant, but more an indirect result of the marked increase in grass Dm production in spring which shaded associated clover stolons and developing leaves during the period when clovers were commencing growth activity (harris & Thomas 1973;harris & Clark 1996;hepp et al 2003). This table 4 Statistical significance of nitrogen (N) fertiliser and soil phosphorus (P) effects on pasture grass dry matter production (kg Dm ha -1 ) in the late spring-autumn season (Nov-Apr) from 2000 to 2002 at each site.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…in comparison, responses by clover to N fertiliser application rarely occur unless Rhizobia activity is inhibited or new pastures are in the early stages of establishment (Cullen 1969), when low rates of N fertiliser (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30) kg N/ha) have been shown to be beneficial. Application of higher rates of N, such as used in dairying (Ball & Field 1982;harris & Clark 1996), or repeated applications of N (e.g., eight applications of 50 kg N ha -1 ), can cause a decline in clover content and production. The most commonly reported effect of nitrogen fertiliser application on pasture legumes is a depression in clover density and yield (ledgard & Saunders 1982;Caradus et al 1993), whereas other reports (o'Connor & Gregg 1971;Crush et al 1982) indicate no deleterious effects on clover production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The differences appear to be related to the opportunities provided for shading of legumes by accelerated grass growth. in management situations where relatively rank pasture is allowed to accumulate, or where grass tiller density is high, clover becomes less competitive (harris & Thomas 1973;harris & Clark 1996), especially in early spring. Conversely, where grazing is continuous, and to a high level of utilisation, the suppression of clover as a result of N fertiliser application is usually less, although it can still be significant (luscombe & Fletcher 1981).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pasture responses to phosphorus and nitrogen fertilisers on east coast hill country: 2. Clover and grass production from easy slopes

Gillingham

Morton

Gray

2008

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

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From 2000 to 2002 a trial series was established on seven farms from Wairoa (northern Hawke's Bay) to Moeraki (North Otago), with contrasting amounts of spring-summer rainfall, to evaluate the pattern of pasture responses to a range of rates of nitrogen (N) fertiliser and a range of soil phosphorus (P) levels. Small plots excluded from grazing were established on flat to gently sloping land containing pastures that had been established for many years. This paper describes the clover and grass component production responses to N fertiliser and to a range in soil P status at each site. In early spring, in all years, the grass components of pasture at all sites except Marlborough, showed a significant response in dry matter (DM) production to N fertiliser applied in mid winter. These responses A07058; Online publication date 6 June 2008 Received 27 July 2007 accepted 13 March 2008 continued into late spring-autumn at most sites/ years. The consistency from year to year of the relative grass response in spring to N fertiliser allowed significant regression relationships to be developed for the 3-year dataset for the North Island sites. The same result did not occur in Marlborough, presumably because low rainfall limited pasture growth, or at Moeraki (not measured). The effects ofN fertiliser on clover production throughout the total season tended to be the opposite of those for grass production. There was generally no response to N fertiliser in early spring but a marked and consistent decline in clover production in late spring-autumn with increasing rate of N fertiliser application. Compared with clover production from plots that received 90 kg N ha -1 , the average clover production in late spring-autumn from plots that received zero N application, was up to the order of three times greater at the Wairoa, Puketapu and Wallingford sites, and about 50% greater at the Waipawa and Wairarapa sites. There was a consistent response by clover in both early spring and in the late spring-autumn seasons, to an increase in soil Olsen P test. On the four northern-most sites an increase in Olsen P test from less than 10 to about 20 raised clover production by about 100% in early spring and by a greater proportion in late spring-autumn. This was in direct contrast to the absence of a response by the grass component during the same period. The management implications of the contrasting effects of N and P fertilisers on pasture clover and grass composition are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pasture responses to phosphorus and nitrogen fertilisers on east coast hill country: 2. Clover and grass production from easy slopes

Gillingham

Morton

Gray

2008

New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research

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“…Repeated applications of N fertilizer has been associated with a reduction in the legume components of pasture (Bolland and Guthridge 2007). However, other reports have identified that when stocking rate was at levels that prevented competition between grasses and legumes the application of N fertilizer has a minimal effect on the persistence of legumes in pastures (Harris andClark 1996, McKenzie et al 2003). It is clear that reducing N applications favours the legume component of pastures (Turner et al 2013).…”

Section: Management Of Simple and Diverse Pasturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simple versus diverse pastures: opportunities and challenges in dairy systems

et al. 2015

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For Australian and New Zealand dairy farms the primary source of home grown feed comes from grazed perennial pastures. The high consumption of perennial pasture is a key factor in the low cost of production of Australian and New Zealand dairy systems and hence their ability to maintain international competiveness. The major pasture species used are perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.), normally grown in a simple binary mixture. As pasture production has been further driven by increasing use of nitrogen fertilizer and irrigation, farms are getting closer to their economic optimum level of pasture consumption. Increasing inputs and intensification has also increased scrutiny on the environmental footprint of dairy production. Increasing the diversity of pasture species within dairy swards presents opportunities to further increase the productivity of the feedbase through additional forage production, extending the growing season, improving forage nutritive characteristics and ultimately increasing milk production per cow and/or per ha. Diverse pastures also present an opportunity to mitigate some of the environmental consequences associated with intensive pasture-based dairy systems. A consistent finding of experiments investigating diverse pastures is that their benefits are due to the attributes of the additional species, rather than increasing the number of species per se. Therefore the species that are best suited for inclusion into dairy pastures will be situation specific. Furthermore, the presence of additional species will generally require modification to the management principles of dairy pastures, particularly around nitrogen fertilizer and grazing, to ensure that the additional species remain productive and persistent.

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“…Further evidence to support these claims on a general negative correlation of mineral N use on clover swards has been documented. Harris and Clark (1996) reported that for mixtures of perennial ryegrass and white clover treatments that did not receive N fertilizer at low and high stocking rates had a mean clover proportion of 16.5% during their trial with maximum clover proportion in late summer. Mineral N application in their study caused a large decrease in clover proportion on low stocking rate treatments 10.6 and 2.2% that received 200 or 400 kg N ha -1 respectively and clover yield was lower on all treatments that had received N fertilizer (Harris and Clark, 1996).…”

Section: Growth and Persistencementioning

confidence: 99%