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Publication Date

1977

Description

Two-year pot and five-year field tests with increasing nitrogen doses revealed an increase in the nitrate content of forage grasses. In the pot tests the content of 0.25 % N03-N in the dry matter, which is safe in animal nutrition, had by far been exceeded. In the field tests the· nitrate content increased more slowly for the average of the tests and did not reach this limit when giving 140 to 240 kg N/ha. In single cases this value had, however, already been reached when giving 100 kg N/ha. By selecting grass species with a lesser tendency to nitrate accumulation, a protection against the intoxi­cation by nitrate is possible, provided the grass species is suited to the relevant conditions of cultivation and use. The examination of the grass before cutting by means of the quick test offers a comprehensive protection against damage caused by a high nitrate content.

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The intensification of grass production through nitrogen fertilization, and the nitrate problem

Two-year pot and five-year field tests with increasing nitrogen doses revealed an increase in the nitrate content of forage grasses. In the pot tests the content of 0.25 % N03-N in the dry matter, which is safe in animal nutrition, had by far been exceeded. In the field tests the· nitrate content increased more slowly for the average of the tests and did not reach this limit when giving 140 to 240 kg N/ha. In single cases this value had, however, already been reached when giving 100 kg N/ha. By selecting grass species with a lesser tendency to nitrate accumulation, a protection against the intoxi­cation by nitrate is possible, provided the grass species is suited to the relevant conditions of cultivation and use. The examination of the grass before cutting by means of the quick test offers a comprehensive protection against damage caused by a high nitrate content.