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Turfgrass Growth and Water Use in Gypsum-Treated

Ultisols

M.J. Schlossberg

Penn State University

Turfgrass and the SE US

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

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.

Turf-type tall fescue roots

Gypsum Control

0-3.5 ”

3.6-7 ”

7-11 ”

Soil chemical or soil physical problem?

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

How Do Turf Managers Like Incorporating Lime?

How Do Turf Managers Like Incorporating Lime?

They don’t. 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?

Gypsum• Many attributes:

–More soluble than agricultural lime–Doesn’t require tillage or coring–Doesn’t 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

Hydroponic experiment

Tall fescue root growth in Al solutions

Al (mg L-1)

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5

Roo

t mas

s (m

g)

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Fescue columns (33cm)

ZnO2 paint

Tall fescue root growth column study

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

0 2 5

Gypsum (tons/acre)

0-9 cm

9-18 cm

18-27 cm

a

a

a

b bbb

c c

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 waterextraction 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.

Experimental DesignAcidic B Horizon ClaypH w(1:1) 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

54 cm

8 cm

Acidic B Horizon ClaypH w(1:1) 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

Experimental Design

Experimental Design

Treatments (5):• Synthetic/FGD Gypsum (Southern Co.)

• Tech. Grade Gypsum (CaSO4•2H2O)

• Calcium Chloride (CaCl2•2H2O)

• 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

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

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 RatesTreatment lbs/Acre (Ca)Lime 4,332 (1,735)FGD and TG Gypsum13,796 (3,224)

CaCl2 11,825 (3,224)

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 RatesTreatment Mg/ha (Ca)Lime 4.86 (1.94)FGD and TG Gypsum 15.46 (3.61)

CaCl2 13.25 (3.61)

Experimental Design

Cultural MethodsTF columns mowed every 9±3 days @ 3”

heightNo signs/symptoms of pest activity observed

over the 2-year study, hence no pesticides were applied (tall fescue is good like that)

When >half 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

Cultural MethodsBermudagrass columns mowed every 7±3

days @ 1.4” height

Insect activity was chemically controlled when necessary

When >half 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

Leachate chemistry and composition

Solute transport through 54 cm of red clay, by time after treatment

Months After Treatment (MAT)

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Leac

hate

Ele

ctric

al C

ond

. (E

C m

S/c

m)

1

2

3

4

5

6

ControlFGDGypsumCaCl2Lime

Aluminum concentration in leachate, by time after treatment


3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Leac

hate

Al (

mg/

L)

0

1

2

3

4ControlFGDGypsumCaCl2Lime

Calcium concentration in leachate, by time after treatment


3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Le

ach

ate

Ca

(m

g/L

)

200

400

600

800

1000

1200


Sulfur concentration in leachate, by time after treatment


3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Le

ach

ate

S (

mg/

L)

8

16

24

32

40

48

360

390


Magnesium concentration in leachate, by time after treatment


3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Le

ach

ate

Mg

(mg/

L)

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90


Potassium concentration in leachate, by time after treatment


3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Leac

hate

K (

mg/

L)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

13

14


Soil nutrient levels by depth

Extractable Ca (meq/100 g soil)

0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5

So

il de

pth

(cm

)

48

43

38

33


Extractable S (mg/kg soil)

150 200 250 300 350 400

Soi

l dep

th (

cm)

48

43

38


Ratio of Extractable Base Cations to Al (meq/100 g soil)

0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35

So

il de

pth

(cm

)

48

43

38

33


Leaf/shoot biomass production

(generally analogous with quality/vigor)

Tall Fescue Shoot Biomass Production by TreatmentPenn State Univ. 2003-2005

Control FGD TG-Gypsum CaCl2 Lime

Clip

ping

Yie

ld (

kg h

a-1 d

-1)

10

11

12

13

14

15

Mean Shoot Biomass Production by Treatment and TurfgrassPenn State Univ. 2003-2005

Princess Sultan Tall Fescue

Clip

ping

Yie

ld (

kg h

a-1 d

-1)

10

11

12

13

14

15

32

34

36

38

40


Drought-Stressed Bermudagrass Shoot Biomass Production by Treatment(18 out of 45 CY events) Penn State Univ. 2003-2005

Princess Sultan

Clip

ping

Yie

ld (

kg h

a-1 d

-1)

25

30

35

40


Turfgrass water useby soil depth

0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8

CaCl2

Lime

Gypsums

Control

Top 13-33 cm

Bottom38-58cm

Tall Fescue H2O-use by depth over (14) 10-35 d dry down periods

cm water / day

Turfgrass nutrient concentration and uptake


Leaf

Ca

(g k

g-1)

3

4

5

6

7 ControlFGDGypsumCaCl2Lime


Lea

f K (

g k

g-1

)

22

24

26

28

30

32

34



Lea

f Mg

(g

kg-1

)

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5ControlFGDGypsumCaCl2Lime


Leaf

S (

g kg

-1)

1.2

1.6

2.0

2.4

2.8

3.2

3.6


Visual qualityor

percent green coverage

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 %

Princess Bermudagrass Sultan Bermudagrass

300 DAP 300 DAP

Princess Bermudagrass % Green Cover

0.25

0.35

0.45

0.55

70 120 170 220 270 320 370

CaCl2ControlLimeGypsum (FGD + TGG)


0.25

0.35

0.45

0.55

70 120 170 220 270 320 370



0.25

0.35

0.45

0.55

240 260 280 300


aa

ab b

b

% 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%

Turfgrass root growth by soil depth

Tall Fescue root length in the 38 –62 soil depths

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?)

Griffin field experiment

Griffin field experiment

• TurfBermuda

Zoysia

Bentgrass

• TreatmentsControl

Lime

Gypsum (low and high)

Lime + gypsum (low and high)

TDR soil moisture meter rods

Soil profile beneath zoysia

Zoysia soil moisture use at 8 -23 inches depth (9-23-2004)

1: control2: lime + gypsum

1 2

soil

moi

stur

e (%

)

22

24

26

28

Turf field demonstrations

usace.army.mil/

Lane Creek – Athens, GA

•Piedmont region

•Heavy red clay

•Acidic soil

•Bermudagrass

The Farm – Dalton, GA

•Ridge and Valley

•Yellow clay

•Neutral soil

•Zoysiagrass

Waterfall – Clayton, GA

•Blue Ridge Mtns

•Rocky, thin soil

•Acidic

•Bentgrass

Grand Hotel – Mobile Bay

•Coastal Plain

•Sandy soil

•Close to neutral

•Bermudagrass

Musgrove – Jasper, AL

•Ridge and Valley

•Yellow clay

•Acidic soil

•Bermudagrass

Chateau Elan – Buford, GA

•Piedmont region

•Heavy red clay

•Acidic soil

•Bermudagrass

UGA soccer fields – Athens

•Piedmont region

•Heavy red clay

•Acidic soil

•Bermudagrass

Taqueta Falls – Lookout Mtn.

•Ridge and Valley

•Yellow clay

•Acidic soil

•Bermudagrass

Grapevine researchChateau Elan

Full Size Pilot Study, Apr 04

• East Lake G.C., Atlanta GA

Root sampling

0

3

6

9

12

15

18

21

24

27

30

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

Root Yield (lbs/acre)

Depth

(in

ches)

Control

Gypsum Treatment

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

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

Summary• Large (>5 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 Ca:Al ratio in acid subsoils

• Leaf Ca and S were not always correlated to root length and water use benefits

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