Bermudagrass harvest management options with poultry litter fertilization

When fertilizing bermudagrass with poultry litter, turfgrass managers must consider limiting the buildup of soil P or drawing down soil test P through cut-and-carry forage. In a previous study that provided turfgrass with 122 kg ha-1 P in poultry litter, researchers found that Tifton 44 bermudagrass cut every 49 days at 3-cm stubble height recovered 23% of the P applied. Bermudagrass P removal is closely associated with dry matter (DM) yield and can be altered through management variables like variety, plant maturity at harvest, and litter application rate or timing. Given the tradeoff between DM yield and the amounts of crude protein and digestible DM in bermudagrass, managing harvests to maximize P recovery may adversely impact forage nutritive value.

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