Effect of Nutrient Seed Coating on the Emergence and Early Growthof Perennial Ryegrass

摘要

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) seeds were coated with either lime, reverted superphosphate plus nnitrogen as isobutylidene diurea (RSN), or partially acidulated rock phosphate plus sulfur (ESPARP). nIn one experiment emergence rates and total emergence were calculated by fitting Mitscherlich-type ncurves to the data and then conducting statistical tests on the three parameters found for each curve. nThere was a significant interaction between soil moisture and coating treatment for all three parameters. nIn a glasshouse experiment, the same coated and uncoated seed treatments were sown either in soil nsupplied with nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur or in soil with nutrient deficiencies of either N, P, or S nor NPS, and the early growth of the plants and their P and N uptakes were studied. The two nutrient- ncoated treatments (RSN and ESPARP) produced more tillers and dry matter yields of roots and shoots nthan did lime-coated or uncoated seed when grown in soils deficient in P, S or NPS. Nitrogen deficiency nreduced yields of all plants, even those derived from RSN seeds. N uptake in the RSN treatment was nnot significantly different from the ESPARP treatment, indicating that the N in isobutylidene diurea was nnot available to the plant.