Use of organic fertilizers and a comparison of their effect in meadow grass stands

The effect of slurry on the quantitative and qualitative changes of a natural grass stand was studied in the foothill region of southern Bohemia at the altitude of 580 m a.s.l. The results of the study do not prove the view con­cerning the occurrence of weeds at slurry rates providing up to 83 kg K/ha, as it has been held in the meadow-management theory. The best results were obtained from two slurry applications per year (in spring and after the first cut) with an NP supplement in the form of mineral fertilizers. This approach provided a yield of 7.778 tons of hay per hectare on a 7-year average. The highest yield of digestible protein (537.9 kg/ha) was achieved in a forage plant stand after every year one single appli­cation of slurry had been made in spring together with an NP supplement. The lowest fibre content was obtained from stands manured with slurry. When determining the rates of slurry, the K content should be used as a basis, whereas the other nutrients should be added.