By Kendra Rose and Jason Hartschuh
Nitrogen fertilization of cereal grains for forage is important for both yield and quality. Using an application method split between the spring and fall is important and can increase yield and tillering, can help spread the risk of nitrogen loss and improve the nitrogen use efficiency. Knowing what your target yield is will help you determine how much the split application will be.
When fertilizing in the spring it’s important to have the correct timing and apply the nitrogen as the crop breaks dormancy. This allows there to be less of a chance for runoff and leaching and the ground is not frozen allowing the nitrogen to move into the soil to be utilized by the crop. Dormancy will break at different times in the spring depending upon.
Source : osu.edu