Responses of Rhodes Grass and Overseeded Legumes to Nitrogen and Potash Fertilizers and to the Availability of Soil Potassium in Israel

Abstract

SummaryResults are reported from experiments with nitrogen and potash fertilizers in irrigated Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana), into which annual winter legumes, e.g. berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum) and vetch (Vicia sativa) were overseeded. The experiments were carried out over a three year period on a sandy loam soil at Bet Dagan Experimental Farm, Israel. Ammonium sulphate, applied in equal split rates of up to 384 lb N per acre, linearly increased dry matter yields of Rhodes grass, and the increase of yield proportionally increased the uptake of K by harvest. The K content of the dry matter decreased with increasing nitrogen fertilization to 0·47 per cent which, however, was still found sufficient for maintaining maximum production of Rhodes grass. The yield of annual winter legumes decreased proportionally to the amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied during the summer. Acute potassium starvation was observed. An autumn application of potassium chloride restored dry matter production to normal levels. Availability of soil K, expressed in terms of energies of replacement [ΔF(− 1)], decreased proportionally to the amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied. When ΔF reached approximately 4,250 cal/mol, overseeded legumes were K-deficient, whereas Rhodes grass at that value was still able to extinct sufficient K from the soil for normal growth.