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Nitrogen Fertilization
rates and Timings for a Bermudagrass Home Lawn
By Beth Guertal, Ph.D., Professor, Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, Auburn University
T
Al ab ama Tu rf Tim e s > >> Su mmer 201 4
ypical nitrogen (N) fertilization recommendations for hybrid bermudagrass lawns in the southeastern United States are 3 to 6 lbs. of nitrogen per 1,000 ft2 per growing season, with the N rate varying with intensity of use and length of the growing season. However, there is limited information about best management of N rates and N timing for hybrid bermudagrass lawns. The objective of this ATRF-funded
project was to examine N rates (totals of 3, 4, 5 and 6 lbs. N per 1,000 ft2 per growing season) and N timing (all season, early spring, late fall) on the growth and performance of hybrid bermudagrass managed as a home lawn. We installed our study in 2010, and the experiment will continue through 2015.
The specific experiment — what we did
A recent (spring 2014) photograph from our N rate and N timing experiment. The square of white clover in the foreground is the plot that has received no nitrogen since 2010. 22
The turfgrass for this study was a hybrid bermudagrass (likely ‘Tifway’), which was treated as a lower-input lawn, with a mowing height of 2". The study was a randomized complete block design of 19 N rate x timing treatments, with 4 replications of each treatment. The nitrogen (all granular urea, with that N watered in after application) was applied in April, May, June, July, August and September in each year as split applications to total 3, 4, 5 or 6 lbs. N 1,000 ft2. The nitrogen was applied in the following “programs”: • Equal — April, May, June, July, August and September (at 1/2, 2/3, 5/6 or 1 lb. N per 1,000 ft2 in each month) • Spring — April, May, June and July (at 3/4, 1, 1-1/4 or 1-1/2 lbs. N per 1,000 ft2 in each month) • Spring Short — April, May and June (at 1, 1-1/3, 1-2/3 or 2 lbs. N per 1,000 ft2 in each month) • Middle Months – May, June, July and August (at 3/4, 1, 1-1/4 or 1-1/2 lbs. per N 1,000 ft2 in each month) • Slow — All in May (6 lbs. N per 1,000 ft2 only in May) • None — Nothing