ABSTRACT
Grasses respond much more strongly to nitrogen fertilization during seasons of fast growth than during the drier, cooler winter months. In the humid tropics climate is rarely limiting, grasses grow throughout the year, and can produce almost twice as much forage as in temperate regions. Fertilization of grasses must be considered in a somewhat different manner from that of crops. About 330 kg N are removed/ha yearly by properly fertilized cut grasses whereas unfertilized Ultisols provide an average of only about 100 kg N/ha yearly to grasses. Vicente-Chandler, etal. found that highest yields were produced, and more fertilizer N was recovered in the forage, when N was applied immediately after each cutting, which is also the easiest practice. In Colombia, it was best to apply N after each cutting of pangolagrass, and splitting N applications or mixing nitrification inhibitors with urea increased efficiency of N fertilization of pangolagrass.
