The influence of sowing time and fertilization on the assimilative leaf area formation of Festulolium

Abstract

Field experiments were performed in ASU Experimental station in 2011-2012. The aim of investigation was to determine the influence of sowing time and fertilization on the formation of assimilative leaf area of Festulolium. The Festulolium cultivars Vėtra and Punia were investigated. The experiment of two fertilization forms and three sowing times was performed. The field was fertilized with complex fertilizer NPK – 300 kg ha-1 and 200 kg ha-1 in sowing year and additional nitrogen fertilizer norm (N60) was applied after threshing. The sowing time : 1st of June, 22nd of June and 12th of July. The seed rate was 10 kg ha-1. The investigation findings showed that on the sowing year assimilative leaf area of Festulolium cultivar Vėtra increased by 88928 m2 ha-1 for early sowing and by 61119 m2 ha-1 for middle sowing. The fertilization rate of 200 kg ha-1 had no influence on grass leaf area. Still, it was lower than during the first fertilization background. During second year of vegetation NPK fertilizer and late sowing time influenced the formation of leaf are of Festulolium cultivar Vėtra. It reached 42515 m2 ha-1. Lower rate of fertilizers, yield bigger assimilative leaf area of perennial grass for all sowing times and the cultivar Vėtra for late sowing it was bigger for 8.34 percent than for the cultivar Punia.