Turfgrass Growth and Water Use in Gypsum-Treated Ultisols

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Turfgrass Growth and Water Use in Gypsum-Treated
Ultisols

• M.J. Schlossberg
• Penn State University

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Turfgrass and the SE US

• Bermudagrass and Tall Fescue dominate the
  landscape of the US Southern Piedmont (GA, AL,
  and the Carolinas)

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Turfgrass and the SE US

• Interestingly
• Bermudagrass and Tall Fescue are the two
  turfgrasses recognized for generating the most
  deeply-extending root systems of ALL turfgrass
  species.

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Turf-type tall fescue roots
Soil chemical or soil physical problem?
Gypsum
Control
0-3.5 3.6-7 7-11
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Treatment Options???

• Lime
• Agricultural grade limestone is an effective
  ameliorant of soil acidity
• Commonly incorporated at establishment for
  production of cotton, soybean, corn, peanuts,
  etc.
• INCORPORATE is the key word, effective treatment
  of soil acidity with lime requires tillage into
  the soil profile

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How Do Turf Managers Like Incorporating Lime?
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How Do Turf Managers Like Incorporating Lime?

• They dont. Turfgrasses are perennial in nature
  and establishment is not only uncommon, but
  dreaded!
• So how can managers ameliorate the effects of
  acidity without plowing the lawn?

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Gypsum

• Many attributes
• More soluble than agricultural lime
• Doesnt require tillage or coring
• Doesnt raise pH of the surface soil
• This can cause soil structure and turf disease
  problems
• Provides sulfate (SO4), the plant essential
  nutrient form of sulfur

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Hydroponic experiment
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Tall fescue root growth in Al solutions
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Fescue columns (33cm)
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Tall fescue root growth column study
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Greenhouse Experiment Objectives

• 1. Construct columns which represent soil
  profiles indigenous to the SE US.
• 2. Analyze leachate to confirm calcium sulfate
  penetration of subsoil, displacement of Al,
  and/or other soil chemistry alterations.
• 3. Use installed instrumentation to monitor water
• extraction from acidic subsoil by roots, by
  depth.
• 4. Simulate drought periods repetitively
  mimicking rain patterns, while promoting deep
  rooting in columns
• 5. Analyze columns to assess root architecture
  and calcium saturation of CEC by soil depth.

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Experimental Design

• Acidic B Horizon Clay
• pH w(11) 4.9
• Exch. Acid 3.9 meq/100g
• Mehlich III (M3) exchangeable
• Phosphorus (P) 2.0 lbs/A
• Potassium (K) 0.04 meq
• Magnesium (Mg) 0.25 meq
• Calcium (Ca) 0.65 meq
• Total CEC 4.84 meq

8 cm
54 cm
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Experimental Design

• Acidic B Horizon Clay
• pH w(11) 4.9
• Exch. Acid 3.9 meq/100g
• Mehlich III (M3) exchangeable
• Phosphorus (P) 2.0 lbs/A
• Potassium (K) 0.04 meq
• Magnesium (Mg) 0.25 meq
• Calcium (Ca) 0.65 meq
• Total CEC 4.84 meq

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Experimental Design
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Experimental Design

• Treatments (5)
• Synthetic/FGD Gypsum (Southern Co.)
• Tech. Grade Gypsum (CaSO42H2O)
• Calcium Chloride (CaCl22H2O)
• Calcitic Lime (100 CCE)
• Control
• 90 columns total 60 Bermudagrass (Princess or
  Sultan) and 30 turf-type Tall Fescue Rebel
• Half of each instrumented for real-time soil
  moisture, three replications of six

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Experimental Design

• The Southern Co. SynGyp, is generated by a wet
  spray-dryer scrubbing process, and contains 23.3
  Ca by mass (/- 0.65), and has a calcium
  carbonate equivalency of 2.7 (/- 0.14). Trace
  element and heavy metal analysis show few
  impurities

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Experimental Design

• The Southern Co. SynGyp is 23.3 Ca by mass (/-
  0.65), and has a calcium carbonate equivalency of
  2.7 (/- 0.14). Trace element and heavy metal
  analysis show few impurities
• Application Rates
• Treatment lbs/Acre (Ca)
• Lime 4,332 (1,735)
• FGD and TG Gypsum 13,796 (3,224)
• CaCl2 11,825 (3,224)

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Experimental Design

• The Southern Co. SynGyp is 23.3 Ca by mass (/-
  0.65), and has a calcium carbonate equivalency of
  2.7 (/- 0.14). Trace element and heavy metal
  analysis show few impurities
• Application Rates
• Treatment Mg/ha (Ca)
• Lime 4.86 (1.94)
• FGD and TG Gypsum 15.46 (3.61)
• CaCl2 13.25 (3.61)

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Cultural Methods

• TF columns mowed every 93 days _at_ 3 height
• No signs/symptoms of pest activity observed over
  the 2-year study, hence no pesticides were
  applied (tall fescue is good like that)
• When gthalf the TF columns showed stunted growth
  leaf firing, all were irrigated with 4 in 1
  pulses over 24 hours (every 20-35 days)
• Post-estab ¼ lb N K2O / 1000 ft2 / month

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Cultural Methods

• Bermudagrass columns mowed every 73 days _at_ 1.4
  height
• Insect activity was chemically controlled when
  necessary
• When gthalf the bermuda columns showed stunted
  growth/dormancy, all were irrigated with 4 in 1
  pulses over 24 hours (every 30-50 days)
• Post-estab ¾ lb N K2O / 1000 ft2 / month

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Leachate chemistry and composition
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Solute transport through 54 cm of red clay, by
time after treatment
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Aluminum concentration in leachate, by time after
treatment
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Calcium concentration in leachate, by time after
treatment
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Sulfur concentration in leachate, by time after
treatment
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Magnesium concentration in leachate, by time
after treatment
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Potassium concentration in leachate, by time
after treatment
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Soil nutrient levels by depth
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Leaf/shoot biomass production(generally
analogous with quality/vigor)
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Turfgrass water useby soil depth
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Tall Fescue H2O-use by depth over (14) 10-35 d
dry down periods
cm water / day
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Turfgrass nutrient concentration and uptake
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Visual qualityorpercent green coverage
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Princess Bermudagrass Overlay Representing
Turf (60 days after planting, DAP)
Of the 3.8 x 106 pixels in this image, 881,598
are green, exactly 23.2
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Princess Bermudagrass Sultan Bermudagrass 300
DAP 300 DAP
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Princess Bermudagrass Green Cover
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Princess Bermudagrass Green Cover
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Princess Bermudagrass Green Cover
a
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b
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Green Cover by Treatment of Bermudagrasses in
Drought Stress

• Princess and Sultan Green
  Cover
• Gypsums v.
• Control 9.0
• Lime 7.2
• All others 21.6
• FGD v.
• Control 6.0
• All others 17.2

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Turfgrass root growth by soil depth
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Tall Fescue root length in the 38 62 soil depths
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Greenhouse Study Summary

• Gypsum trts effectively penetrated 60 cm of clay
  soil 1 year after a 7 ton/A application
• Differences between mined synthetic gyp were
  slight, allowing pooled analysis
• Benefits to TF were stark enhanced growth, total
  deep water uptake, deep roots, and leaf S
  compared to both Lime and Con trts (with no
  resulting base cation deficiencies)
• Benefits to bermudagrass include enhanced growth
  color response under drought conditions (deeper
  roots?)

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Griffin field experiment
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Griffin field experiment

• Turf
• Bermuda
• Zoysia
• Bentgrass
• Treatments
• Control
• Lime
• Gypsum (low and high)
• Lime gypsum (low and high)

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TDR soil moisture meter rods
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Soil profile beneath zoysia
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Turf field demonstrations
usace.army.mil/
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Lane Creek Athens, GA

• Piedmont region
• Heavy red clay
• Acidic soil
• Bermudagrass

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The Farm Dalton, GA

• Ridge and Valley
• Yellow clay
• Neutral soil
• Zoysiagrass

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Waterfall Clayton, GA

• Blue Ridge Mtns
• Rocky, thin soil
• Acidic
• Bentgrass

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Grand Hotel Mobile Bay

• Coastal Plain
• Sandy soil
• Close to neutral
• Bermudagrass

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Musgrove Jasper, AL

• Ridge and Valley
• Yellow clay
• Acidic soil
• Bermudagrass

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Chateau Elan Buford, GA

• Piedmont region
• Heavy red clay
• Acidic soil
• Bermudagrass

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UGA soccer fields Athens

• Piedmont region
• Heavy red clay
• Acidic soil
• Bermudagrass

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Taqueta Falls Lookout Mtn.

• Ridge and Valley
• Yellow clay
• Acidic soil
• Bermudagrass

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Grapevine researchChateau Elan
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Full Size Pilot Study, Apr 04

• East Lake G.C., Atlanta GA

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Root sampling
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Effect of Gypsum Addition on Root Growth at East
Lake Golf Club
Control
Gypsum Treatment

• Gypsum treatment 4 tons/acre, April 11, 2005
• Samples collected May 19, 2006

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Summary

• Large (gt5 ton) gypsum apps to turfgrass did not
  induce salt or phytotoxic injury
• More significant advantages of gypsum
  applications are associated with turfgrasses
  poorly adapted to weathered, acid soils
• Continuing turfgrass root analysis should
  demonstrate advantages of increased CaAl ratio
  in acid subsoils
• Leaf Ca and S were not always correlated to root
  length and water use benefits

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Acknowledgements

• Lamar Larrimore, Southern Company
• Dr. Bill Miller, University of Georgia
• Dr. John Kruse, University of Georgia
• Dr. Malcom Sumner, University of Georgia
• Michael Wolfe, Southern Company