Description
Legumes are important components in grassland ecosystems. Red clover is one the most used legumes in the transition zones states like Kentucky. To maintain legumes in grass pastures, improved red clover varieties are often overseeded in the late-winter or early-spring. In many cases seed is mixed with fertilizer and top-dressed onto pastures. Little data are available on the impact of fertilizer type or duration of exposure on the germination of raw and coated red clover seed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of two fertilizer types, muriate of potash and a blended fertilizer (urea, diammonium phosphate, and muriate of potash), and the duration of exposure (1 to 28 days) on the germination of an improved red clover variety that was raw or coated. Mixing seed with the blended fertilizer resulted in a linear decrease in germination rate for the raw seed and quadratic decrease for the coated seed. After 20 days of exposure to the blended fertilizer, the germination rate of the coated and raw seed was 0 and 60%, respectively. Combining seed with muriate of potash resulted in a linear decline in germination rate with the decline being greater for the coated seed. Overall, the rate of decrease was considerably less than that of the blended fertilizer. Results of this study indicate that seed coating enhanced the detrimental effects of fertilizer on seed germination.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Impact of Fertilizer Type, Seeding Coating, and Duration of Exposure on the Germination of Red Clover Seed
Legumes are important components in grassland ecosystems. Red clover is one the most used legumes in the transition zones states like Kentucky. To maintain legumes in grass pastures, improved red clover varieties are often overseeded in the late-winter or early-spring. In many cases seed is mixed with fertilizer and top-dressed onto pastures. Little data are available on the impact of fertilizer type or duration of exposure on the germination of raw and coated red clover seed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of two fertilizer types, muriate of potash and a blended fertilizer (urea, diammonium phosphate, and muriate of potash), and the duration of exposure (1 to 28 days) on the germination of an improved red clover variety that was raw or coated. Mixing seed with the blended fertilizer resulted in a linear decrease in germination rate for the raw seed and quadratic decrease for the coated seed. After 20 days of exposure to the blended fertilizer, the germination rate of the coated and raw seed was 0 and 60%, respectively. Combining seed with muriate of potash resulted in a linear decline in germination rate with the decline being greater for the coated seed. Overall, the rate of decrease was considerably less than that of the blended fertilizer. Results of this study indicate that seed coating enhanced the detrimental effects of fertilizer on seed germination.
