Abstract
The effects of Na fertiliser (supplied as an NPK-Na compound) on herbage yield and composition were examined at two different sites to see if pasture responses to Na were affected by differences in K and moisture availability. At one site, pasture was grown under conditions of moisture stress and limited K availability, whereas at the other site the pasture was grown under comparatively non-stress conditions.
The results were interesting in that Na fertilisation appeared to be detrimental to pasture yield and quality under conditions of moisture stress and suboptimal K supply, whereas under the non-stress conditions it actually increased herbage N offtake, marginally improved the nutritional quality of the pasture and produced appreciable (albeit non-significant) increases in DM yield. It was suggested that an important effect of Na on grass production may have been its ability to enhance the rate of NO3 − uptake by plants, thereby minimising NO3 −-N losses from the soil-plant system by denitrification. However, because the amount of N fertiliser used in the experiments (i.e. 390 kg N ha−1 yr−1) was close to that normally required for maximum yield production (N max) under Northern Ireland conditions, the scope for yield increases in response to Na-elicited improvements in N offtake were thought to have been very limited at both experimental sites.
On the basis of results from both the present study and previous field trials, a unifying theory is presented to explain the differential effects of Na on NO3 − uptake and herbage growth under different sets of circumstances.
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Cushnahan, A., Bailey, J.S. & Gordon, F.J. Some effect of sodium application on the yield and chemical composition of pasture grown under differing conditions of potassium and moisture supply. Plant Soil 176, 117–127 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00017682
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00017682