THE EFFECT OF FERTILIZERS ON THE LONGEVITY 

 OF MOWINGS 



By A. B. Beaumont, Professor of Agronomy, R. W. Donaldson, Extension 

 Agronomist, and M. E. Snell, Technical Assistant in Agronomy 



Introduction 



Occupying about 70 percent of the harvested crop land, hay is easily the most 

 important field crop in Massachusetts from the standpoint of acreage. In economic 

 value, it is exceeded only by the vegetable crop. With the decline in the horse 

 population in recent years, the demand for market hay has decreased until 

 practically all hay produced in Massachusetts is now fed on the farm where 

 grown. Thus it is marketed through the important dairy industry which pro- 

 duces about 35 percent of the income of Massachusetts farmers. 



According to the Federal Census of 1930, the yield of all hay in Massachusetts 

 was 1.3 tons per acre. 1 In view of the importance of the hay crop and the dem- 

 onstrated possibilities of increased production, this figure is not as high as it 

 should be. Likewise, the quality is poor and can be improved along with the 

 yield; for within limits, the quality of hay improves as the yield per acre increases. 

 More forage of good quality is a primary requirement of dairymen of the North- 

 eastern States. The improvement of the hay crop offers attractive possibilities 

 of reducing costs of producing dairy products in Massachusetts. 



Hay is grown in a long rotation on the average Massachusetts farm. Common 

 practices are to seed down after one or two years of corn, small grain, potatoes, 

 or a combination of these, or to plow and reseed an old mowing without growing 

 a tilled crop. It is not uncommon for a mowing to be continued five or more 

 years without reseeding. Decline in quantity and quality of hay finally forces 

 the farmer to plow, but only with the object of getting the land back in hay as 

 soon as possible. 



There are several good reasons why it is desirable to prolong the life of mowings 

 in Massachusetts. In the first place, much of the land used for hay in this State 

 is so stony as to make plowing difficult. Secondly, since under ordinary conditions 

 it is more economical for the Massachusetts dairyman to purchase his grain than 

 to produce it, a relatively large acreage must be kept in forage crops. Finally, 

 farm labor is relatively more expensive in Massachusetts than in less industrialized 

 regions, and any method of farming which reduces labor expenditures is desirable. 

 The two experiments reported in this bulletin were designed to show what could 

 be done with fertilizers applied as top-dressing to prolong the life of a mowing. 



Experiments with Fertilizers Containing Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium 



This experiment was conducted on one of the deeper and better phases of 

 Merrimac fine sandy loams, a soil rather typical of some of the best hay land in 

 Massachusetts. Although well drained, the soil is retentive of moisture and the 



•Preliminar) census reports for 1935 indicate an average yield of hay less than 1.3 tons per acre. 



