Effect of Heavy Rates of Fertilization on Beef Production and Carrying Capacity of Napier Grass Pastures over 5 Consecutive Years of Grazing Under Humid Tropical Conditions
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Caro-Costas, R., & Vicente-Chandler, J. (1972). Effect of Heavy Rates of Fertilization on Beef Production and Carrying Capacity of Napier Grass Pastures over 5 Consecutive Years of Grazing Under Humid Tropical Conditions. The Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico, 56(3), 223–227. https://doi.org/10.46429/jaupr.v56i3.10828

Abstract

Intensively managed Napier grass pastures on steep slopes in the humid mountain region of Puerto Rico grazed by young growing cattle over a 5-year period, produced an average of 947,1,281 and 1,582 pounds of gain in weight per acre yearly when fertilized annually with 1,600, 2,800 and 4,000 pounds of 14-4-10 fertilizer per acre, respectively. The pastures carried the equivalent of 2.22-, 2.89- and 3.58 six-hundred-pound steers per acre throughout the year and produced 6,890, 8,960 and 11,100 pounds of total digestible nutrients per acre yearly at the 1,600-, 2,800- and 4,000- pound fertilizer levels, respectively. Daily gains per head were not affected by level of fertilization, and averaged 1.31 pounds. At the 4,000-pound fertilizer rate the pastures maintained a minimum of 3 head per acre and produced 1,582 of liveweight worth about $475 at current prices or $315 above fertilizer costs.
https://doi.org/10.46429/jaupr.v56i3.10828
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