There is little information about concentrations of micronutrients and heavy metals in soil water under turf. This information may be useful for evaluating soil water quality under intensively managed turf areas such as golf courses and sports fields.  The objective of this study was to determine (1) the concentrations of these elements in soil water under Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) + fine fescue (Festuca rubra L.) turf; (2) concentration fluctuations from a hot summer month of July to a cool fall month of November, and (3) effects of three fertilizers, Tee Time (chemical analysis: 25-3-10), Miracle Gro (36-6-6), and a yeast-added bio fertilizer (0-6-0) on turfgrass quality, clipping yield, and concentrations of micronutrients and heavy metals in soil water in comparison to a no-fertilizer treatment.

Observations of soil water micronutrient concentrations indicated that some monthly variations occurred in most elements from July to October and these variations coincided with the respective turfgrass clipping micronutrient concentrations. In general, no significant differences in soil water micronutrient concentrations were found among the treatments, but Miracle Gro appeared to affect the concentrations of some soil water micronutrients. The average soil water Fe concentration across all treatments was 1.3, 1.7, 2.0, and 1.8 mg L^-1 in July, August, September, and October, respectively. There was no significant variation in soil water Fe concentration by month, but significant differences among the treatments were observed in September with Miracle Gro treatment having a significantly higher soil water Fe concentration than other treatments at P = 0.0032, indicating that the Fe in Miracle Gro appeared to have an effect on soil water Fe concentration. The average soil water Cu concentration across all treatments was 5.4, 7.2, 1.7, and 0.8 mg L^-1 in July, August, September, and October, respectively, with the values in July and August significantly higher than the values in September and October at P < 0.01. This month-to-month variation was similar to that in clipping Cu concentration. No significant differences in soil water Cu concentration were observed among the treatments. Miracle Gro treatment had significantly higher soil water Mn concentrations than Tee Time in July, while in August and September, Miracle Gro treatment had significantly higher soil water Mn concentrations than all other treatments. The average soil water Zn concentration across all treatments was 5.4, 7.2, 1.7, and 0.8 mg L^-1 in July, August, September, and October, respectively, with values in July and August significantly higher than the values in September and October at P < 0.01. The average soil water B concentration across all treatments was 86.12, 85.02, 51.78, and 39.45 mg L^-1 in July, August, September, and October, respectively, with the values in July and August significantly higher than the values in September at P < 0.05 and October at P < 0.001. The average soil water Mo concentration across all treatments was 27.1, 11.3, 4.1, and 2.2 mg L^-1 in July, August, September, and October, respectively, with the value in July significantly higher than the values in September and October at P < 0.05. The average soil water Ni concentration across all treatments was 35.9, 19.5, 12.1, and 12.8 mg L^-1 in July, August, September, and October, respectively, with the value in July significantly higher than the values in August, September and October at P < 0.001 and the value in August significantly higher than the value in September at P < 0.05.

There were no significant differences in the concentrations of the five heavy metals (Al, Pb, Cd, Co, and Cr) in soil water (Table 7), although Tee Time and Miracle Gro were known to contain trace amounts of Cd and Co. Soil water Pb, Cd, and Co concentrations were undetectable. The average soil water Al concentration across all treatments was 206.6, 297.4, 16.93, and 116.8 mg L^-1 in July, August, September, and October, respectively (Table 7), with the value in July significantly higher than the values in September at P < 0.001, and the value in August significantly higher than the values in September and October at P < 0.001. The average soil water Cr concentration across all treatments was 38.78, 42.52, 60.55, and 62.18 mg L^-1 in July, August, September, and October, respectively (Table 7), with the values in July and August significantly lower than the values in September and October at P < 0.001. (note: mg should be microgram).