Establishing three warm‐season turfgrasses with tailored water: I. Growth, cover, and nitrate leaching losses

Abstract

Although treated effluent is being increasingly used to irrigate mature turfgrass, information on its use to establish grass is limited. Greenhouse experiments were conducted in 2015 and 2017 to examine establishment and nitrate leaching from three warm‐season grasses: buffalograss [Buchloe dactyloides (Natt.) Eng.] ‘SWI 2000’, inland saltgrass [Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene], and bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] ‘Princess77’. All grasses were grown with tailored (tertiary treated effluent with 15 mg L–1 of NO3–N) water. Grasses were established from seed in a loamy sand and irrigated with either tailored or potable water plus granular Ca(NO3)2 fertilizer. Leachate collected at 10‐ and 30‐cm depths was analyzed for NO3–N and electrical conductivity. Overall, establishment was faster and coverage was greater in 2015 than in 2017, but neither differed between irrigation treatments when grasses were analyzed separately. At the end of both establishment periods, bermudagrass and buffalograss coverage was generally greater than that of inland saltgrass. In 2017, bermudagrass irrigated with tailored water resulted in greater coverage than buffalograss or inland saltgrass. In 2015, nitrate concentrations were greater in leachate collected from bermudagrass and inland saltgrass irrigated with tailored water than from grasses irrigated with potable water. Nitrate concentrations in leachate were generally lower in 2017, reaching a maximum value of 65.3 mg L–1 when averaged over all treatment combinations, and did not differ between treatments. Our data suggest that the three grasses studied can be successfully established from seed using tailored waters.

Establishing three warm‐season turfgrasses with tailored water: II. Root development, nitrate accumulation in plant tissue and soil, and relationship with leaching

“…In 2015 grasses were irrigated daily with either potable or tailored water at 100% of the estimated reference evapotranspiration (Allen et al., 1998), which was based on weather sensors installed in the greenhouses (refer to Sevostianova et al., 2021, for details). Average temperature and relative humidity during the first trial in 2015 were 33.4 ± 12.18 °C and 42.4 ± 12.4%; in 2017 these values were 29.8 ± 1.6 °C and 50.1 ± 8.3%.…”

“…For each trial, 18 lysimeters consisting of cylindrical PVC containers (diameter, 28 cm; depth, 35 cm), into which soil solution access tubes (SSATs) were inserted, prepared, and packed with a loamy sand (0.6% organic matter; EC = 0.47 dS m −1 ; pH 8.6; NO 3 -N = 2.5 mg L −1 ) to a bulk density of 1.6 g cm −3 . For details about construction of lysimeters and soil type used, refer to Sevostianova et al (2021). Eighteen additional containers prepared in the same way but without SSAT were used to collect destructive root samples.…”

“…A three-parameter logistic nonlinear model (Archontoulis & Miguez, 2015) was used to model cover. For a detailed description of methods used to collect cover data and statistical analyses, refer to Sevostianova et al (2021).…”

“…In a companion paper, Sevostianova et al. (2021) reported that the salinity level of tailored irrigation water did not affect establishment of three warm‐season grasses. However, during the first establishment period (2015), nitrate levels in leachate were influenced by type of irrigation water, with higher levels found in leachate collected from bermudagrass and inland saltgrass irrigated with tailored water than from grasses irrigated with potable water.…”

“…The aim of our study was to investigate the effects of irrigation with tailored water during the establishment period on root development and accumulation of nitrate in the rootzone and N in tissue of two native grasses (buffalograss and inland saltgrass) and bermudagrass, the industry standard for warm‐season grasses. Additionally, we explored if a relationship exists between nitrate leaching (Sevostianova et al., 2021), soil nitrate accumulation, plant biomass, and root parameters.…”