Topdressing your pastures
with nitrogen
Nitrogen fertilisers can be used to provide additional dry matter
responses above normal daily pasture growth rates. Many graziers
use nitrogen to boost pasture growth and create a feed wedge
coming into winter.
Choose pastures which have good base fertility and good
densities of desirable pasture species, with few weeds or insects.
Nitrogen rates should be a minimum of 30 kg/ha to a maximum
of 50 kg/ha. Applications should be made immediately following
grazing and prior to rainfall or irrigation.
Autumn and winter responses to nitrogen fertiliser are usually in
the order of 10 kg of dry matter per kg of nitrogen applied or 250
to 500 kg DM/ha above normal growth rates.
While urea is still the most commonly used nitrogen fertiliser, there
are other nitrogen fertilisers suitable for boosting pasture growth.
Nitrogen fertilisers
Fertiliser
Analysis
Comments
Green Urea NV™ 46% nitrogen
Urea enhanced with a urease inhibitor to help protect the fertiliser
from volatilisation losses.
Urea
46% nitrogen
The most common nitrogen fertiliser. Can be topdressed to pastures
soon after grazing and before rain or irrigation.
EASY N®
42.5% nitrogen (w/v) – 21.5% as urea (w/v),
10.5% as ammonium (w/v),
10.5% as nitrate (w/v)
Ideal for small, repeat applications. EASY N contains plant available
nitrate nitrogen which can provide quicker responses on cold soils
compared with urea.
Cal-Gran®
23.9% nitrogen – 16.5% as ammonium,
7.4% as nitrate – 10.8% sulphur, 4.4% calcium
Cal-Gran contains immediately plant available nitrate nitrogen
which can provide quicker responses on cold soils compared with
urea. Can be blended with other fertilisers.
Green Urea NV
Green Urea NV fertiliser offers the same benefits as urea with the
added security of a urease inhibitor.
This helps protect the fertiliser from volatilisation losses, allowing
more time for the urea to be incorporated into the soil, helping
more applied nitrogen to be available for your pastures.
Volatilisation (the loss of gaseous ammonia from urea) can be
significant from grass based pastures with losses of around 30%
reported where significant rainfall does not occur within days of
urea application.1
Green Urea NV is a good option if follow-up rainfall or irrigation is
unlikely within a few days of application.
EASY N
EASY N fertiliser is a liquid nitrogen fertiliser which can be sprayed
on to pastures to boost growth.
It is ideal for small, repeat applications, such as applying 50 L/ha
of EASY N after each grazing with a boomspray. EASY N can cause
foliage burn, so applications with flat fan nozzles should be applied
immediately post grazing to minimise leaf area contact. Streaming
nozzles can also assist in minimising leaf burn. EASY N can also be
applied through centre pivots and with other irrigation systems.
Because EASY N contains one quarter of its nitrogen as plant
available nitrate nitrogen, it can provide quicker responses on cold
soils than urea.
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