Description
Supplementing Mg to dairy cows is widely practised in New Zealand. Various methods are used including drenching, pasture dusting, water trough treatment and adding to hay, silage and other feedstuffs (Young et al., 1979). Fertiliser Mg (calcined magnesite, MgO) is widely used to maintain soil Mg status but research has shown that using fertiliser Mg to achieve good soil, pasture and animal Mg status requires large inputs of Mg (120 kg/ha) and maintaining blood serum Mg status in dairy cows tends to be short-lived without further animal supplementation (O’Connor et al., 1987). The objective of these experiments was to test whether a more soluble Mg product like kieserite (MgSO4), when applied to pastures, could achieve an immediate but short-term boost in Mg status when applied at critical times of the year.
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The Effect of Two Magnesium Fertilisers, Kieserite and MgO, on Herbage Mg Content
Supplementing Mg to dairy cows is widely practised in New Zealand. Various methods are used including drenching, pasture dusting, water trough treatment and adding to hay, silage and other feedstuffs (Young et al., 1979). Fertiliser Mg (calcined magnesite, MgO) is widely used to maintain soil Mg status but research has shown that using fertiliser Mg to achieve good soil, pasture and animal Mg status requires large inputs of Mg (120 kg/ha) and maintaining blood serum Mg status in dairy cows tends to be short-lived without further animal supplementation (O’Connor et al., 1987). The objective of these experiments was to test whether a more soluble Mg product like kieserite (MgSO4), when applied to pastures, could achieve an immediate but short-term boost in Mg status when applied at critical times of the year.
