Field Evaluation of 42-0-0 Foliar Fertilizer on Improved Bermudagrass Varieties for Forage Production

Summary

With high input fertilizer costs associated with hay and forage production, growers are always looking for new more cost-effective options. Recent products such as foliar fertilizers have been marketed as cheaper alternatives but have no university-based research to assert claims. County Extension agents from three Northeast Georgia counties along with University of Georgia researchers conducted a one year preliminary study on three sites comparing one particular foliar fertilizer to other conventional fertilizers and university recommendations. Initial results show that yields were reduced by almost half when fertilized with the new product at recommended rates when compared to conventional fertilizers at university recommended rates while cost was similar to conventional fertilizers. Results also showed that the cost of using the new product at equivalent university recommendations resulted in a much higher cost to producers.

Situation

Input prices for farmers have steadily increased over the last several years. One of these includes fertilizer prices. Forage growers, especially hay producers, have turned away from using conventional fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate because of high cost and limited availability and have relied more solely on fertilizers such as poultry litter which is more readily available for many producers in Northeast Georgia. Recently, several fertilizer companies have attempted marketing products to hay producers as alternatives to expensive conventional fertilizers. These products are foliar fertilizers, meaning they are meant to be absorbed through leaf tissue rather than roots. Foliar fertilizers are common in row crop production but are not as conventional in forage production. Many of these newly developed and marketed products also lack any testing through replicated university research.

Response

County Extension agents in three Northeast Georgia counties (Madison, Banks, and Elbert) developed a replicated research project in conjunction with the University of Georgia Forage Specialist to evaluate the effectiveness of one foliar nitrogen fertilizer product (Grasshopper 42-0-0) in comparison to existing conventional nitrogen fertilizers and university recommendations. Agents used a replicated complete block design with treatments including ammonium nitrate, urea, urea-ammonium nitrate, and Grasshopper foliar fertilizer at the company labeled rate and at UGA recommended application rate equivalent. UGA recommendations resulted in four applications of fertilizer at a rate of 75 lbs N/acre per application. Harvests were conducted four weeks after application and this occurred on four separate occasions from May through August.

Impact

Results were consistent across all three test sites and these results have important implications for Georgia pasture and hay producers. The Grasshopper foliar fertilizer used at company recommended rates performed poorly compared to UGA recommended fertilizers and application rates. In most cases, the foliar fertilizer at company rates yielded half the total forage that conventional fertilizers or Grasshopper fertilizer at UGA rates did. The total cost and cost/ton of forage is the most important and most telling part of this information that was collected. Although Grasshopper fertilizer at company recommended rates yielded half the total forage compared to other conventional treatments, it was the same cost per ton as conventional fertilizers that yielded much more forage. This means that producers would achieve much higher yields and therefore more income from selling more hay by utilizing conventional fertilizers at recommended rates rather than using the product that was tested. Even more telling is that the treatment using the Grasshopper fertilizer at rates equivalent to UGA recommendations resulted in equivalent yields to conventional fertilizers but was up to 8 times more costly to apply. This is critical information that is important for producers who operate on extremely tight margins. This project will be continued for a second year to improve our understanding of foliar fertilizers in forage production and provide more research-based data to producers.

State Issue

Agricultural Profitability and Sustainability

Details

• Year: 2012
• Geographic Scope: Multi-County
• County: Banks
• Program Areas:
  • Agriculture & Natural Resources