Different fertiliser products are commonly promoted for use on pastures in order to improve pasture productivity and support a more ‘healthy’ soil microbial environment. However, minimal field research has been conducted to validate such claims. A 6-year study (2009–14) was conducted on phosphorus (P)-deficient soils at three sites near Yass, New South Wales, to investigate the effect of topdressing perennial native-based pastures with a range of alternative fertilisers and with single superphosphate.
A summary of the findings are presented in a paper published in Crop & Pasture Science (Dec 2019 – Vol 70, Issue 12). A copy of the paper can be found here FLeech Crop Pasture Science manuscript.
A short video can also be viewed below highlighting the relevance of the study when choosing fertilisers for topdressing of pastures:
https://youtu.be/GtkArssq0pk