Ryegrass forage yield and quality response to sulfur and nitrogen fertilizer on coastal plain soil

Abstract

Sulfur (S) deficiency has been reported in some upland soils of the southern United States and S application has improved forage quality on the low‐S soils. A field experiment was conducted for three years to determine ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) dry matter yield and forage quality response to S fertilization. Prilled elemental S was applied each year at two rates (0 and 45 kg S/ha) in combinations with three rates of nitrogen (N) (168, 224, and 280 kg/ha). Wet depositions of S in rain were monitored over the seasons. Sulfur fertilization generally did not increase seasonal dry matter yield and plant uptake of S. Nitrogen application generally increased dry matter yield and protein content during the season. Averaged over the three‐year period, however, forage yield and S uptake increased from 7.7 to 10.5 Mg/ha and 13.9 to 18.8 kg/ha, respectively, as N fertilization increased from the lowest to highest treatment rates. Forage dry matter for each harvest ranged from 0.6 to 2.2 Mg/ha, while S, protein, in vitro dry matter digestibility (TVDMD), and N/S ratio tended to decline seasonally from 2.5 to 1.8, 266 to 142, and 795 to 716 g/kg, and 17.8 to 11.9, respectively. Sulfur input from rainfall was small with a three‐year average of 5.8 kg/ha (±0.64 SE). In some locations of the southern United States, S may not be limiting even when applying high rates of N to high‐yielding forages which annually remove large quantities of S. Because of the lack of yield response from S application and low inputs of S from wet deposition, S from sources other than rainfall may have been considerable.