Three commonly used forages include bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum), bermudagrass (Cynodon

dactylon), and stargrass (Cynodon nlemfuensis). These forages are C4 grasses that are more

metabolically efficient than temperate forages, resulting in a lower proportion of nutrients

available to ruminant animals (Brown, 1978). Tropical grasses exhibit peak forage mass during

midsummer (Sollenberger et al., 1989). Although forage DM mass peaks in midsummer, animal

production is often depressed, and this decrease is related to decreased forage quality

(Sollenberger et al, 1989; Sollenberger and Jones, 1989; Rusland et al., 1988). Previous research

with warm-season grasses has shown N fertilization to increase forage DM yield and N

concentration of the forages (Prine and Burton, 1956; Harvey et al., 1996; Caraballo et al, 1997).

The experiment was carried out in the Range Cattle Research and Education Center in Ona, FL

(27 ° 25′N, 81 ° 55′W; high 27.4 m) during 1997 and 1998 summer planting season. The soil was

a Pomona fine sand (sandy siliceous, hyperthermic Ultic Haplaquod). Whole plot effects were

the three tropical forage grass species, and split-plot effects were five rates of N fertilization (0,

39, 78, 118, and 157 kg of N/ha) and split-split plots were five summer harvests. Cultivar was

randomly assigned within field replicate (n = 4 replicates), and N fertilization treatments were

randomly assigned within each cultivar. Before assignment of Nfertilization (ammonium nitrate)

treatments, P and micronutrients were applied at a rate that would not limit production regardless

of the N application rates. Thus, all plots received 25 kg of P, 93 kg of K, 2.8 kg of Zn, 2.8 kg of
Fe, 2.8 kg of Cu, 2.8 kg of Mg, and 0.28 kg per hectare.

Average forage mass for 1997 was 37% (P < 0.01) more than 1998. This response tends to be

normal with tropical grasses due to an increase in turf density during the second growing season,

decreasing forage mass during this time (P. Mislevy, personal communication). The response

pattern of forage growth to fertilization was similar for both growing seasons.
The IVOMD (In Vitro Organic Matter Digestibility) of stargrass increased linearly (P 0.01), whereas the
IVOMD of bermudagrass responded quadratically (P 0.01) as the level of N fertilization increased. Bermudagrass
not fertilized with N had a mean IVOMD of 58.0%, but IVOMD was depressed (P 0.05) by the application of 78
kg of N/(ha_cutting). When 157 kg of N/(ha_cutting) was applied, IVOMD averaged 60.0%, which was similar to
unfertilized bermudagrass. In contrast, N fertilization had no effect on the IVOMD of bahiagrass.