Nitrogen fertilization increases the growth and nutritional quality of the forage legume, Calobota sericea – A preliminary investigation
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Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
Calobota sericea is being evaluated as a forage for drought stressed areas. The nutritional quality
of C. sericea from native populations are poor, and this is believed to be due to poor soil fertility.
Therefore, a greenhouse trial was established to determine the impact of N-fertilization level (0,
25, 50, 75 and 100 kg/ha) on the growth and nutritional quality of C. sericea plants. Three-monthold plants were harvested and the root and shoot length, as well as branching intensity on each
plant determined. Thereafter, the shoots were separated into leaves and stems and all plant parts
were oven dried for dry mass determination. After weighing, the leaves and stems for each plant
were combined and the dried shoots used for nutrient determination. Results indicated that
increased N application levels is positively correlated with improved C. sericea growth. Similarly,
mineral nutrient uptake increased significantly under all the N-fertilization treatments and crude
protein content increased from 9.6% to 18.6%. Plant growth was only statistically significantly (p
< 0.05) improved when N was applied at rates of 50 kg/ha and more, but crude protein content
increased from the lowest N application rates (25 kg/ha). The improved growth and nutrient
uptake could primarily be explained by improved resource allocation under N-fertilization.
Therefore, appropriately fertilized C. sericea can result in improved forage production and
improved quality forages and when N is applied at high enough rates.
Description
Keywords
Biodiversity, Conservation, Agriculture, Population studies, Climate change
Citation
Britz, E. et al. (2023). Nitrogen fertilization increases the growth and nutritional quality of the forage legume, Calobota sericea – A preliminary investigation. Heliyon, 9(2), e13535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13535