# Fertility for Bermudagrass



## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

This link is for TX 47F Texas publication and tells about fertilizing T-85 bermudagrass with yield results and mineral analysis for N & K fertilizers.

http://www.ipni.net/far/farguide.nsf/926048f0196c9d4285256983005c64...

The Author is our Vincent Haby now retired from Overton Research facility in East Texas.

Using their mineral analysis is very relevant for unlike soils, though there well be some obvious differences. One being no matter what our practices we can not do much to our excessive levels of calcium found HERE.

Something to consider with care is the harvested weights. They use a research harvester which can weigh all the forage cut, This is then dried & converted to pounds per acre. Add 12% for the 12% moisture hay, then subtract 25%-30% for normal harvest losses. I subtract 15% weight for a rough estimate for production hay yield. (10,000 # DM = 8,500 #/A hay) 
This will change the mineral percentages a little but not enough to be significant for production.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

hay wilson

The link in your thread didn't work for me. Is this the link and article that you want hay talk viewers to visit/read?

http://www.ipni.net/ppiweb/bcrops.nsf/$webindex/78948B92DCE8977A852572DE0056BB7F/$file/07-2p03.pdf


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

http://www.ipni.net/ppiweb/bcrops.ns...le/07-2p03.pdf 
Is a good article. 
The one I was using I did a copy and paste , but diod not do a qual check, my error.

The article I used wa Effect of nitrogen, potassium, chloride, and sulfur on Tifton 85 bermudagrass yields and stand decline, by V. A. Haby. It is an annual report for 2005 February 15, 2006. Twenty one pages of really interesting data!

I have a question. Two years later you had a report using ACT 62D (6-26-8-14S-7 Mg-1Zn) 
Evaluation of KMag and KMag+P (ACT 62D) compared to Murate of Potash for the Production of Tifton 85 Bermudagrass on the Coastal Plain Soils (2007 Annual Report)
Has that particular blend ever gaained popularity? 
What all went into that blend? 
I suspect American Plant Food can produce that blend. 
I wonder if a pound of boron would not also be effective on bermudagrass.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

Mosaic Company, a primary phosphorus supplier, was wanting to evaluate a proprietary fertilizer blend as a potential fertilizer for hybrid bermudagrass production. This was during the high priced fertilizer days a couple of years ago. We were not advised relative to the ingredients in this blend except to be given the blend percentages. KMag was one of the ingredients. After two years of study on this particular blend, the company gave up on additional evaluation of this blend. The blend never made it to the market place.

We evaluated boron rates of 1 and 2 lb/ac compared to a zero check on a lime-rate study on Coastal and then Tifton 85 bermudagrasses on a Darco soil. This study was done for at least 15 years and no yield increase was noted for the boron treatment. An earlier study of boron application on Coastal bermudagrass by Spooner and Honeycutt in Arkansas produced a yield increase of 500 lb/ac from one pound of boron per acre. Of all the studies of boron on bermudagrass, the Arkansas study and one other that I cannot recall now, are the only studies that showed a significant yield response to boron application. You can try one pound of boron, or maybe even two pounds per acre. It shouldn't hurt the grass yield, but I doubt that it will increase yield. I could be wrong on your high calcium carbonate soil. On limed, acid soils of the Coastal Plain, clovers and alfalfa readily respond to boron treatment, but not bermudagrasses.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

I appreciate the information. 
I asked about boron, as I use it for alfalfa, usually blended with potash fertilizer. Story has it boron also has a positive effect on moisture use efficiency, and wondered if it would do the same for bermudagrass.

This year I applied potash to some of the bermudagrass, before the start of our summer drought. Then it rained in July! Still I saw 9% CP where the potash was used and 7% CP where it was not applied. I was expecting maybe 5% CP.

It is light enough to rake, if we have any humidity this morning.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

In our on-farm field demonstrations of alfalfa production on Coastal Plain soils in the early 2,000s we mixed boron with potash for application as you are doing. One of the primary functions of potassium in plants is to regulate the opening and closing of the stomates, microscopic vent holes in plant leaves. With adequate potassium content the guard cells surrounding these stomates can function to open the stomates to allow transpiration during periods of good plant available moisture. As the climate becomes drier, these guard cells close down the stomates to restrict moisture loss from the plants. If these guard cells become deficient in potassium, they cannot restrict moisture loss during dry periods, so plants suffering potassium deficiency cannot tolerate drought as well as if they have adequate potassium. I feel certain that, as well read as you are, that you already knew this.


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## oxyplants (Nov 20, 2010)

We are renowned as the Manufacturer of Oxygen Plants, Nitrogen Plants and Acetylene plants.


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

Why won't they leave us alone!!!!!


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

NDVA HAYMAN said:


> Why won't they leave us alone!!!!!


/sigh, because.

Unfortunately I know of another great site that was spammed out of existence.

One way to combat it and it's a pain for the admins, only registered users can post and those new users are manually approved.

Another site required the first 25 posts to be approved by admin before they are posted.

Yet another site, at the first bit of spam, the poster is deleted and IP address is banned.

None are fool proof though.


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