Acta Univ. Agric. Silvic. Mendelianae Brun. 2012, 60(5), 181-186 | DOI: 10.11118/actaun201260050181

Effect of fertilization and harvest frequency on floristic composition and yields of meadow stand

Josef Raus, Pavel Knot, František Hrabě

Ústav výživy zvířat a pícninářství, Mendelova univerzita v Brně, Zemědělská 1/1665, 613 00 Brno, Česká republika

The effect of fertilization and the harvest frequency on production and floristic characteristics of a meadow stand were assessed in a small plot trial established in 2003 in Vatín, Vysočina Region, the Czech Republic. Four levels of fertilization (none; N₀ + P₃₀ + K₆₀ kg∙ha^-1; N₉₀ + P₃₀ + K₆₀ kg∙ha^-1; N₁₈₀ + P₃₀ + K₆₀ kg∙ha^-1) were combined with four treatments of exploitation intensity (4 cuts per year, first cut on 15th May, every next after 45 days; 3 cuts per year, first cut on 30th May, every next after 60 days; 2 cuts per year, first cut on 15th June, next after 90 days; 2 cuts per year, first cut on 30th June, next after 90 days). Production of dry matter and proportions of guilds (grasses, legumes, and other species) were evaluated. Data from 2009-2011 were used in this paper. Yields of the dry matter increased along with increasing amounts of nutrients supplied and ranged from 3.8 t∙ha^-1 (non-fertilized) to 9.1 t∙ha^-1 (N₁₈₀PK). The nutrition level had a significant effect on spread of grasses, which reached maximal proportion of 52.3 % under N₁₈₀PK fertilization compared to 42.1% on non-fertilized plots. On the contrary, legumes flourished well in treatments without N-supply, attaining proportion of 6.8 % and 5.1 % on PK-fertilized and non-fertilized plot, respectively. With regard to the exploitation intensity grasses profited from extensive management by contrast to the group of other species which reached its maximum in swards harvested four times a year. Proportions of legumes did not show significant dependence on the cutting frequency.

Keywords: permanent meadow, fertilization, harvest frequency, grassland management, floristic composition

Grants and funding:

This study was supported by the Research plan No. MSM6215648905 "Biological and technological aspects of sustainability of controlled ecosystems and their adaptability to climate change", which is financed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, and research project NAZV No. QH 81280 "Study of main factors with influence on the stability of a sustainable system of grassland management in the Czech Republic".

Received: May 3, 2012; Prepublished online: July 24, 2013; Published: July 30, 2013  Show citation