spring 2010
Water-logged greens in Surrey area with
pH of 5 ( 1/2 KCl 1M )
Barium chloride CEC test method has determined
CEC = 10 meq
H+ 8 meq
Al+++ 2 meq
Clay content is .01% and silt .5% therefore virtually all of the CEC comes from organic matter content which is 2.9%. CEC from organic matter is pH dependent. Calcareous component is < .1% so there is no buffering capacity
Desired pH is 6.4 What should I do?
Maybe normal lime, maybe dolomite... How much?
Thanks in advance
you can call me Al
1 Jul 2010 by Anthony Asquith Last edited 1 Jul 2010
Michael
What grass are you trying to grow?
A desired PH on a golf green 6.4..to grow what?
Specifc species prefer specific conditions but all vegetation will adapt to the physical and chemical conditions (esp Poa) on that soil eventualy.
I believe the best PH is the one you have as it is economicaly and practicaly difficult to do such a thing, either by reduction by applying elemental Sulphur or with Lime (which may or not be a good thing depending on what you are trying to grow ie poa, bent, ryegrass, fescue etc).
But, to answer your questions - Not much work has been done on turgrass soils but in theory there is a lime requirement test, or the recommendation is made simply on the basis of the current required PH, crop and soil type. For a grassland sandy soil with the PH you give the recommendation would be 5 tonnes/per hectare ground limestone.
Domomite is not recommended.
AA
1 Jul 2010 by Anthony Asquith Last edited 1 Jul 2010
It is very dificult to advice without having experience on the area - any area for that matter.
You state waterlogged greens? If there any underlying issues? If so, I would advice to treat the root of the problem first without worying about soil chemical issues - this could be compaction, inadequate soils, thatch issues etc as chemistry means diddly squat without solving the problem.
After, providing an adequate aeration programme has been implemented and ongoing, the oxidation of organic dervived molecules will increase the soils CEC through natural degredation. Have you ever seen thatch left which has been left and exposed to the atmosphere, this proves the point!
AA
Thanks Anthony the target grasses are fescue & bent like most ( except they are 50% poa like most everywhere else, except of course if you are on the 8-0-0 Fenn dressing Jim Arthur aka STRI routine, hundreds of courses as pure fescue and bent ) every traditional UK course. The water logging was a freak occurrence, the first in almost a century. I figured that the pH dropped after oxidation and all the bases that had been on the CEC were then flushed leaving no Ca or Mag for cellular reproduction or chlorophyll production.
CEC of 10 is more than sufficient and reducing the organic matter and hence reducing the CEC I think is a good idea. My thought with the dolomite was to get some Ca & Mag available and bounce the pH as well in the process.
Your liming rate is correct except it is tough to get so much lime out. If this condition arises again I would try a couple bags of lime on a green and a couple of bags of Mag lime on another to aide recovery and compare the two.
Cheers Michael
Michael
You need to distuinguish beetween the effect of lime on PH (which might or might not be a wise practice depending on the adaption of the particular plant) and the effect of Ca per se on the soil and the plant.
AA
Anthony, the greens are 100% sand with zero calcareous component that conform perfectly to USGA specs and are 90 years old. In my experience the only thing that grows well at 5 pH is thatch because microbes cannot degrade organic material.
The pH has been around 6.4 until this washout over the last winter. There used to be a product called Microcal from Rigby Taylor that raised the pH slowly.
I am still wondering where are all the UK golf courses with fescue/bent greens because they have followed the Jim Arthur's and STRI's practices.
Please inform Michael
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