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Thumb of Michigan | -IDK if it's possible to front load Prosperous in a hay field. Every ton of forage removed takes 8-10 Phos with it. As an example, with a 4 ton an acre removal rate in 5 years you would have 160-200# of actual Prosperous gone.
All my present stands are 10+ years old (oldest field was planted in 2009) and I fertilize every year after taking 1st cutting off. I shoot for 50 units of Prosperous per acre, along with 200-250 units of K (figuring a 48-50# per ton crop removal rate of Potash).
My understanding is P moves slowly through the soil structure. I have lower CEC soils (6-10 mainly) and I'm a believer of this slow movement thought. I'm a long time no-tiller, the field I no-til planted in August of 2009, I've been fertilizing heavy (+550# an acre) for as long as it's been planted the last time. 8 years ago (it's 8th crop year), I was getting 400+ ss bales (not quite 3/4 ton per acre) off the field for 2nd cutting and was tickled pink for that yield. This year (it's 16th crop year), I got 1,098 ss bales of that field (almost 2 tons an acre).
My yields slowly increased over the years, then seemed to plateau about 6-8 years ago, but I continued to heavy fertilize. The last three years I've been seeing increases in production again. This is one reason I'm buying into the slow movement of Ph. | |
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Having available P in long lasting alfalfa stands how to
