Influence of Phosphorus Rate in Starter Fertilizer On Establishment of Tall Fescue Turf.

Starter fertilizers containing P are often recommended for establishing turfgrasses, even when soil tests reveal adequate or high concentrations of available P. The objective of this study was to determine the response of newly-seeded tall fescue to surface applications of N-containing fertilizer with 0, 24.5, 49, or 73.5 kg P ha-1 on soils with varying concentrations of Mehlich 3-P. Three tests were conducted during 2011 in University Park, PA on silt loam soils with 38, 115, and 274 mg Mehlich 3-P kg-1. Treatments included 49 kg N ha-1, 73.5 kg N ha-1, 49 kg N ha-1 + 24.5 kg P ha-1, 49 kg N ha-1 + 49 kg P ha-1, 49 kg N ha-1 + 73.5 kg P ha-1, and an unfertilized control. The source of N was ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) and the P source was monammonium phosphate (MAP) (11-52-0). Rates of ammonium sulfate were adjusted to account for the addition of N from MAP. Fertilizer treatments were applied in a single application in September 2011. Plots were seeded with tall fescue at 65g 2.2 m-2 on the same day fertilizer treatments were applied. Percent living ground cover of tall fescue turf was assessed visually and using digital photography throughout the fall of 2011. Results showed that treatments containing N produced higher percentages of ground cover than the unfertilized controls; however, treatments containing P did not produce higher percentages of ground cover than those containing N with no P.