330-16 Influence of Nitrogen Application Rate On the Extent of Nitrogen Leaching.



Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Henry Gonzalez Convention Center, Hall C, Street Level

A. Martin Petrovic, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
There is a lot known about nitrogen (N) leaching from turfgrass ecosystems, but little research has been done to determine what the maximum soluble N application rate should be from an N leaching prospective, an important best management practice. The objective of this study is to determine the maximum single soluble N application rate that does not result in an increase in N leaching over different growing seasons and soil types. The study was conducted in soil containers were filled with a quartzite sand and sandy loam soil then sodded with Kentucky bluegrass. After a 2 month establishment period, 15 fertilizer treatments were applied in July and again in Oct.  Application rates ranged from 4.9 to 73 kg N/ha (at 4.9 kg N/ha intervals, an un-fertilized control), using ammonium sulfate is the N source. Just prior to and one wk. after each application the containers were leached with water equivalent to 2 pore volumes to leach all soluble N from the containers. The drainage water was analyzed for NH4-N, NO3-N and total N. For the sand there was no N leached when N was applied up to 14.7 kg N/ha of soluble N when applied in July and a very small amount of leaching at 19.6 kg N/ha. At higher applications there were significant amount of leaching. For the sandy loam soil, apply no more than 34.3 kg N/ha of soluble N in July resulted in a little NO3-N leaching and up to 24.5 kg N/ha there was no leaching. At higher applications there were significant amounts of leaching. It was apparent that when more N was applied there was less efficient use of N, thus suspect to leaching.
See more from this Division: C05 Turfgrass Science
See more from this Session: Turfgrass Ecology, Pest Management, and the Environment