Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Baldwin, Brina S.

Committee Member

Rushing, J. Brett

Committee Member

Lemus, Rocky W.

Committee Member

Ward, Stephanie H.

Date of Degree

5-7-2016

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Plant and Soil Sciences

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Department

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) use continues to be an important aspect of forage production. Experimentation was conducted to understand the combined effects of N application and harvest regime on three cool-season grasses: orchardgrass, southeastern wildrye, and tall fescue. Tests were established at Starkville and Brooksville, MS, in fall 2013 and 2014, respectively. Plots were fertilized with 0, 134, 202, or 269 kg N ha-1 yr-1 and harvested one, two, three, or four times during the 112-day season. Variables measured included: cumulative dry matter yield, relative forage quality, crude protein percentage, normalized difference vegetation index, nitrogen use efficiency, and persistence. Persistence was only recorded for southeastern wildrye. Species, N application, and harvests were significant in combination with one another (either two or all three) for all variables except persistence. Only harvest frequency was significant for persistence. Further research should be conducted to evaluate cutting height when incorporating N and multiple harvest events.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/16990

Comments

cool-season grass

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