TURFGRASS SOILS REPORT - 1982Paul E. Rieke, Shawn L. McBurney, and Richard A. BayDepartment of Crop and Soil SciencesMichigan State UniversityEffect of Soil pH on TurfgrassesA study on the effect of soil pH on three turfgrasses was established inAugust, 1981 at the Hancock Turfgrass Research Center. Ground limestone (1.5,3.0 and 6.0 tons per acre) and sulfur (0.5 and 1.0 ton per acre) applicationswere made and rototilled to a depth of 3 inches. Three turfgrasses wereseeded after treatment - Baron Kentucky bluegrass, Pennlawn red fescue andManhattan perennial ryegrass. Soil pH tests for samples taken 1 year afterapplication are given in Table 1. The higher limestone rates raised pH toabout 7.5 in the surface 2 inch layer while the sulfur treatments causedsignificant lowering of pH. Some injury occurred on the Kentucky bluegrassand red fescue in the corner of one replication of the highest sulfurtreatment. No other injury to the grasses was apparent throughout the otherplots.The effects of pH on other soil tests for the check, and the highestlimestone and sulfur treatments are shown in Table 2. Although acidifying thesoil increased the phosphorus tests, the differences were not statisticallysignificant. Changing soil pH had no effect on the potassium test but didsignificantly reduce the available calcium and magnesium tests.A greenhouse study was established with an undergraduate student, RobertMaibusch, in which 4 different particle size ranges of sulfur were mixed witha loam soil. These materials were applied at 4 different rates. Two monthsafter application the soil was sampled for pH determination. Soil pH valuesare given in Table 3. Clearly, the finer particle size sulfur material wasoxidized faster than the coarser material resulting in a faster pH reduction.This is consistent with previous field observations that sulfur productscomposed of powdered (or very finely ground) sulfur react faster than morecoarsely ground materials. Because of the high surface area of the sulfur,the sulfur-oxidizing organisms convert the sulfur to sulfate much fasterresulting in greater potential for turf injury.Nitrogen Rate Effect on Penncross,Penneagle and Emerald Creeping Bentgrass GreensNitrogen rates ranging from 1 to 8 pounds nitrogen per 1000 square feetannually were applied to Emerald, Penneagle and Penncross creeping bentgrassgreens at the Hancock Turfgrass Research Center. Generally, the Emerald plotshad lower ratings (Table 4) than the other grasses during the growing season.There was little difference in the quality ratings between Penncross andPenneagle.1Table 1. Soil pH control study on sandy loam at the Hancock Turfgrass ResearchCenter. Treatments applied August, 1981. Averages for 3replications. Samples taken August, 1982.TreatmentDepthof sampling, inchesChemicalRate, tons/A0-2 2-4Limestone6.07.5ax7.0abLimestone3.07.6a 6.6bccLimestone 1.57.0ab 6.1cdCheck 6.0cd 5.5dSulfur 0.54.1ef 4.6eSulfur 1.03.4g 3.8fgx - means followed by the same letter are not significantly different fromeach other at the 5% level using Duncan's Multiple Range Test.Table 2. Soil pH control study on sandy loam at the Hancock Turfgrass ResearchCenter. Treatments applied August, 1981. Sampled taken August, 1982Averages for 3 replications.TreatmentDepth of Available nutrient test, pounds/AChemicalRate,tons/A sample pHPKCaMgLimestone 6.00-27.5ax65183ab2867a638a2-47.0a 76 98c 1433b590aCheck0-26.0b86 188ab1433b268b2-45.5b 104 123bc 1233b220bSulfur1.0 0-2 3.4c125206a 433c 90c2-43.8c 132 169ac700c77cx _means in columns followed bythesame letter are not significantlydifferent from each otheratthe5% level ,using Duncan's Multiple RangeTest.2Table 3. Effect of sulfur particle size and rate of pH on a loamsoil seeded to Manhattan perennial ryegrass in the green-house. Averages for 8 replications. Samples taken 2months after application.TreatmentDepth of sample,inchesS rateParticlesize0-.5.5-11-2 2-33-4 4-51bs/1000mm08.1 8.18.08.08.0 8.0------------------------------------------------------------------10<.057.77.9 7.8 7.7 7.87.8100.1-0.257.9 7.97.9 7.97.9 7.9100.5-1.08.0 8.08.0 7.97.9 7.9102.0-4.08.0 8.08.0 7.97.9 7.920 <.057.67.77.77.8 7.8 7.8200.1-0.257.7 7.87.8 7.9 7.9 7.9200.5-1.07.9 7.98.07.97.9 7.9202.0-4.08.0 8.08.07.9 7.97.9------------------------------------------------------------------40<.057.37.5 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.640 0.1-0.25 7.57.77.8 7.8 7.8 7.840 0.5-1.07.9 7.97.97.97.9 7.940 2.0-4.0 8.07.97.97.9 7.97.980808080<.050.1-0.250.5-1.02.0-4.07.37.57.87.937.47.77.97.97.67.77.87.97.67.87.87.97.77.87.87.97.77.87.97.9Table 4. Effect of nitrogen rate on quality of Penncross,Penneagle and Emerald creeping bentgrass putting greensat the Hancock Turfgrass Research Center. Treatmentsinitiated in 1982. Plot size is 3 feet by 6 feet. Threereplications. All plots receive 2 pounds K20 per 1000square feet annually.Turfgrass qualityrating(9=best)Annual N rateN carrierGrassNov 2Dec 15lbs/1000 sq ft1 UreaEmerald3.7hY1.7i2UreaEmerald 4.5gh3.7gh3 Urea Emerald4.5gh4.0fh4Urea Emerald5.2fg 4.7ef6Urea Emerald5.5dg 4.7ef8Urea Emerald5.7dg 4.7ef4LxUrea Emerald5.3eg 8.8a4LMilorganite Emerald3.7h 5.7cd4Ammonium Emerald 4.8fh3.7ghnitrate1 UreaPenneagle6.0cf3.3h2 UreaPenneagle7.2ac4.0fh3 UreaPenneagle 7.2ac 4.2fh4UreaPenneagle7.8ab 5.3ce6 UreaPenneagle7.8ab 5.7cd8 UreaPenneagle8.0a 5.8c4LxUreaPenneagle7.0ac 7.3b4LMilorganite Penneagle 6.0cf5.8c4Ammonium Penneagle 7.2ac 4.8dfnitrate1UreaPenncross5.3eg4.5eg2 UreaPenncross 6.7bd4.8df3UreaPenncross6.7bd 4.2fh4UreaPenncross7.2ac 5.7cd6 UreaPenncross 8.0a 6.0c8UreaPenncross 8.2a 5.8c4LxUreaPenncross 7.2ac8.3a4LMilorganite Penncross 4.5gh 5.7cd4AmmoniumPenncross 6.5ce 4.8dfnitratex- L refers to lateseason nitrogenapplication at 1.5.y- means in columnsfollowed by thesame letter arenot signifi-cantly different from each otherat the 5% levelusing theDuncan's Multiple Range Test.4Nitrogen Fertility Programs for a PenncrossCreeping Bentgrass GreenA study evaluating the effect of several nitrogen fertility programs onthe turf quality of Penncross creeping bentgrass was established in the fallof 1981. This is a joint study wtih J. M. Vargas, Jr. Treatments areoutlined in Table 5 and data for 1982 are given in Table 6. Note thedollarspot ratings taken in November.A similar study was initiated on annual bluegrass in the fall of 1982mowed at fairway height. Since the study was just started, no data weretaken.Effect of Nitrogen Fertilization and TopdressingPrograms on the Quality of Penneagle Creeping