Examination Of Changes In Soil Chemical Properties Resulting From Irrigation Source and Turf Management In Texas High Plains.

Drought-like conditions have plagued the Southern High Plains and led to an increasing dependence on different irrigation water sources.  Recent observations suggested the need to obtain baseline data and evaluate the likely impacts of poor quality irrigation water and management practices on chemical properties of soils from golf courses in Lubbock, TX. In this study, soil samples were collected from 7 golf courses located in Lubbock, TX. Soil samples were collected to a 30 cm depth and incrementally divided into 10 cm samples from irrigated (managed) and non-irrigated (non-managed) sites at each golf course. Soils were further characterized for a suit of chemical properties. Preliminary findings from 0-10 cm samples show that the organic matter content ranges from 1.50 to 3.30% (mean 2.40%) in the irrigated zones and 0.40 to 2.50% (1.10%) in the non-irrigated zones. Phosphorus (Bray II extractable) ranges from 74.9 to 302.7 mg/kg (191.4 mg/kg) in the irrigated zones and 81.7 to 133.2 mg/kg (92.8 mg/kg) in the non-irrigated zones, suggesting an external source of fertilizer addition to the irrigated zones. Soil electrical conductivity, an indication of soluble salt content, ranges from 0.40 to 1.23 dS/m (0.90 dS/m) in the irrigated zones and 0.32 to 0.91 dS/m (0.63 dS/m) in the non-irrigated zones.  Among the exchangeable cations (calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium), sodium was significantly higher in the irrigated zones of all the golf courses examined (P < 0.05). Soil pH was higher in the irrigated zones at 5 out of the 7 golf course sites examined. Most of the soil properties examined were shown to vary with depth. Observed changes between irrigated and non-irrigated zones among the courses could be partly attributed to differences in management practices. Further investigation into soil carbon, nitrogen, soluble salt, sodium adsorption ratio, and exchangeable sodium percentages are currently being conducted.