[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: salt on grass
On Fri, 10 Mar 1995, Everett Thomas wrote:
> There was an article in Hoard's Dairyman a month or so ago, referred to
> some Brits putting NaCl on high-K grass land, reduced forage K levels.
> Since high K grass is a hot topic in dry-cow dairy circles, I've had
> several questions about this. Any news or opinions out there. Since
> the problem isn't strictly a K problem but a cation problem, and since
> Na is also a cation, seems like it wouldn't help unless the grass
> doesn't take up the Na. Also, isn't high-Na tough on soil structure.
> I think the article mentioned a 45#/A NaCl rate. Any opinions, etc?
There is a summary of this process in Mengel and Kirby (p 425, third
edition), but sodium and potassium serve many of the same purposes in the
plant and utilize a simialar uptake pattern. By increasing Na uptake,
you may reduce K uptake. This would help reduce grass tetany problems
with highly productive milk cow. High Na is tough on soil structure,
but 45 # NaCl/ac is not a high Na level. Sodium levels at this rate with
the rainfall levels of britian (>40 inches/year) should not cause any
problems.
later,
David
References: