Effect of phosphorus, potassium and lime application on pasture in acid soil in Yunnan Province, China

摘要

Abstract Inadequate provision of winter and early spring forage is a major problem for ruminant production in Yunnan Province, China. Temperate legumes (e.g., white clover) combined with perennial grasses (e.g., perennial ryegrass, cocksfoot) have the potential to fill this feed gap for livestock production when high fertiliser inputs are maintained. In commercial practice, however, these legume/grass pastures perform poorly and lack persistence due to poor fertiliser management. This paper describes a low‐input fertiliser strategy developed to maintain productive pastures on moderately acid (pH = 5.3) Hapludult (red earth) soils in Malong County, Yunnan. Since initial soil tests showed major deficiencies of phosphorus (P) (<6 mg kg‐1 Bray P) and potassium (K) (16 mg kg‐1), a three‐replicate experiment was done that included four rates of fused calcium magnesium phosphate (CaMgP) fertiliser (0, 500, 1000 and 1500 kg ha‐1 yr‐1), four rates of potassium sulphate (K2SO4) fertiliser (0, 100, 200 and 300 kg ha...