1. Winter Annual and Summer Annual Fertilization Strategies T. Wade Green Twiggs County Extension April, 29, 2008 Basics of Forage Management

2. Thou Shalt Soil Test The #1 cause of poor stands at establishment – poor soil fertility or low soil pH.

3. The First Step It’s always better to make fertility recommendations based on a soil sample. Phosphorus and Potassium are simply “best guesses” without knowing actual soil levels. It doesn’t matter how much fertilizer you dump out there if the pH is 4.5 things are still gonna look terrible.

4. Winter Annual Forage Systems Overseeding Winter Annuals into Bermuda Ryegrass (Annual) Rye Oats Wheat Triticale Arrowleaf Clover Crimson Clover Red Clover

5. Fertilization requirements for winter annual grasses and legumes Grown Alone 1 P3P3 K4K4 Winter Annual At PlantingWinter Early SpringLowMedHigh LowMedHigh ----- lbs N/acre -------- lbs P 2 O 5 /acre ------ lbs K 2 O/acre --- Grasses Ryegrass50 100500100500 Rye50 -100500100500 Wheat50 -100500100500 Oats50 -100500100500 Triticale50 -100500100500 Clovers Arrowleaf---100500100500 Ball---100500100500 Berseem---100500100500 Crimson---100500 100500 1Grown as a single species. 3 Phoshorus. Low = soil test levels of 0-30 lbs/A (Coastal Plain) or 0-20 lbs/A (Piedmont); Medium = 31-60 lbs/A (Coast) or 21-40 lbs/A (Pied); High = 61+ lbs/A (Coast) or 41+ lbs/A (Pied). 4 K=Potassium. Low = soil test levels of 0-60 lbs/A (Coastal Plain) or 0-100 lbs/A (Piedmont); Medium = 61-150 lbs/A (Coast) or 101-200 lbs/A (Pied); High = 151+ lbs/A (Coast) or 201+ lbs/A (Pied).

6. Fertilization requirements for winter annual grasses and legumes Grown in Mixture 2 P3P3 K4K4 Winter Annual At PlantingWinter Early SpringLowMedHigh LowMedHigh ----- lbs N/acre -------- lbs P 2 O 5 /acre ------ lbs K 2 O/acre --- Grasses Ryegrass50 100500100500 Rye50 100500100500 Wheat50 100500100500 Oats50 100500100500 Triticale50 100500100500 Clovers Arrowleaf30-500-50-100500100500 Ball30-500-50-100500100500 Berseem30-500-50-100500100500 Crimson30-500-50-100500 100500 1Grown as a single species. 2Nitrogen (N) is only needed in spring when winter annual grass mixtures include ryegrass. If annual clovers are mixed with annual grasses, apply 30-50 lbs N/acre at planting and 50 lbs N/acre in late winter only if the stand contains less than 40-50% clover. 3 Phoshorus. Low = soil test levels of 0-30 lbs/A (Coastal Plain) or 0-20 lbs/A (Piedmont); Medium = 31-60 lbs/A (Coast) or 21-40 lbs/A (Pied); High = 61+ lbs/A (Coast) or 41+ lbs/A (Pied). 4 K=Potassium. Low = soil test levels of 0-60 lbs/A (Coastal Plain) or 0-100 lbs/A (Piedmont); Medium = 61-150 lbs/A (Coast) or 101-200 lbs/A (Pied); High = 151+ lbs/A (Coast) or 201+ lbs/A (Pied).

7. Fertilization of Winter and Summer Annual Forages

8. Summer Annual Forage Systems Brown top Millet Pearl Millet Sorghum Sudan Hybrids Others???

9. Pearl Millet Pennisetum glaucum (others) Soil pH 6.0 (can tolerate lower pH) 180-240 pounds nitrogen (N) per acre Grazing – 40 lbs @ establishment & 50 lbs/month while grazing Hay or Silage - 40 lbs @ plant., 60 lbs after establishment and 60 lbs/acre after each cutting Phosphorus (P 3 ) Potassium (K 4 ) Low Coast: 0-30 lbs/A Pied: 0-20 lbs/A Med Coast: 31-60 lbs/A Pied: 21-40 lbs/A High Coast: 61-100 lbs/A Pied: 41-75 lbs/A Low Coast: 0-60 lbs/A Pied: 0-100 lbs/A Med Coast: 61-150 lbs/A Pied: 101-200 lbs/A High Coast: 151-250 lbs/A Pied: 201-350 lbs/A --- lbs P 2 O 5 /acre ------ lbs K 2 O/acre --- 6040201008060 *Increase Phosporus and Potassium 25% if more than one cutting anticipated

10. Sorghum Sudan Grass Soil pH 6.0 (not tolerant to acid soils) 180-240 pounds nitrogen (N) per acre Grazing – 40 lbs @ establishment & 50 lbs/month while grazing Hay or Silage - 40 lbs @ plant., 60 lbs after establishment and 60 lbs/acre after each cutting Phosphorus (P 3 ) Potassium (K 4 ) Low Coast: 0-30 lbs/A Pied: 0-20 lbs/A Med Coast: 31-60 lbs/A Pied: 21-40 lbs/A High Coast: 61-100 lbs/A Pied: 41-75 lbs/A Low Coast: 0-60 lbs/A Pied: 0-100 lbs/A Med Coast: 61-150 lbs/A Pied: 101-200 lbs/A High Coast: 151-250 lbs/A Pied: 201-350 lbs/A --- lbs P 2 O 5 /acre ------ lbs K 2 O/acre --- 6040201008060 *Increase Phosporus and Potassium 25% if more than one cutting anticipated

11. Browntop Millet Panicum ramosum Soil pH 6.0 60 Lbs. N/acre Phosphorus (P 3 ) Potassium (K 4 ) Low Coast: 0-30 lbs/A Pied: 0-20 lbs/A Med Coast: 31-60 lbs/A Pied: 21-40 lbs/A High Coast: 61-100 lbs/A Pied: 41-75 lbs/A Low Coast: 0-60 lbs/A Pied: 0-100 lbs/A Med Coast: 61-150 lbs/A Pied: 101-200 lbs/A High Coast: 151-250 lbs/A Pied: 201-350 lbs/A --- lbs P 2 O 5 /acre ------ lbs K 2 O/acre --- 6040201008060

12. Liebig's Law of the Minimum