Impact of different nutrient formulations and liquid soil conditioners on sports turf quality, performance, vigor and playability (2017)

Date: June - October 2017

Purpose:
BRANDT offers premium and advanced fertilizer technology, including GRIGG and Manni-‐Plex foliar nutrient formulations, and BRANDT iHAMMER – a fertilizer and photosynthetic activator. In this trial, we evaluated specific foliar or liquid fertilizers and liquid soil conditioner programs applied alone, or in combination, which were designed to increase turfgrass performance and improve soil physical properties on a moderate-‐high use athletic field. The programs, offering a mix of soluble nitrogen, minor nutrients, wetting agent, organic matter, seaplant extract and carbohydrate were designed as a sequential (applied every 14 days) routing approach to maintain high quality turfgrass during traffic and environmental stress.

Summary:
BRANDT’s nutritional and soil-‐conditioning programs significantly improved turfgrass quality compared to nitrogen (N) control(s) and untreated plots. Additionally, the rotational programs that utilized a soil conditioner trended to improve soil physical properties, including reduced compaction and an increase in soil volumetric water content (%VWC). Considering the high use and traffic at the trial site and high heat, especially in the middle part of the trial, rotating BRANDT’s nutrient and soil conditioning technology represents and effective way to maintain optimum vigor and soil surface characteristic under a typical sports field management program for warm season turfgrasses.

General Information:

Study Director: Gordon Kauffman III, Ph.D. – BRANDT Investigator: Gerald Henry, Ph.D. – University of Georgia.
Location: ‘419’ hybrid Bermudagrass sports field

Planting Type, Irrigation & Soil Conditions:

Irrigation Type: NA Planting Type: NA
General Fertility: Maintenance
Soil Type: Native sandy loam
Plot Size: 10 X 20 ft.
Replications: 4 -‐ Random Complete Block

Weather Conditions:
General Weather Cond.: Typical summer, Georgia During Application: Variable

Treatment Details:
Crop Stage at App.: Mature hybrid Bermudagrass
Site Type: Sports Field
Plot Size: 10 X 20 ft.
Application Date(s): Biweekly June 8 – October 2, 2017 -‐ 8 total applications.
Spray Volume/Carrier: 80 GAL H2O/A
Application Method: CO2 powered boom prayer Nozzle and Pressure: 4 Flat fan nozzles at 35 p.s.i.

Treatments: ALL RATES expressed per 1000ft(2) (M)

Application Timing and Products

Every 14 days Upplause Plus (6 fl. )
Every 14 days Gary’s Green Ultra (12 fl. ) Nutra Green (6 fl. oz.)
Every 14 days Rhizonify (12 fl. ) Bioblend (6 fl. oz.)
Every 14 days Upplause Plus rotated with Rhizonify and Bioblend
Every 14 days Gary’s Green Ultra and NutraGreen rotated with Rhizonify and Bioblend
Every 14 days Urea (5.23 fl. )
Every 14 days Urea (7.3 fl. )
Untreated Control

Products:

Foliar
Gary’s Green Ultra (13-‐2-‐3; 0.5Mg, 0.12Cu, 1.4Fe, 0.2Mn, 0.2Zn)

Nutra Green (5-‐10-‐5; 1Mg, 0.12B, 0.1Cu, 1Fe, 0.5Mn, 0.1Zn)

Liquid
Brandt iHammer Upplause Plus (10-‐0-‐0)

Liquid Soil Specialty (Conditioners) Rhizonify (6-‐4-‐4; 0.2Fe, 0.05Mn, 0.05Zn) Bioblend (10-‐0-‐0; 10Ca)

Materials and Methods (Cont.)

-Hybrid Bermudagrass sports field maintained at 1.25 inches with a rotary mower.

-Plots were mowed once a week and irrigation was applied through an automated irrigation system at a rate of 1.5 inches per week.

-The sports field received moderate play from various intramural sports including soccer and lacrosse.

-Treatment applications were watered in with approximately 0.25 inches of water the night following application.

Assessments:

-Soil moisture (% volumetric water content), soil compaction (penetration resistance; PSI), and plant health (NDVI) were measured with the Toro Precision Sense 6000 every two (2) weeks.

-Approximately 8 soil moisture and soil compaction readings were recorded per plot and averaged to generate one (1) measurement per plot that was used for analysis.

-The PS6000 continuously takes NDVI readings as it moves; so more than 8 NDVI readings were used to create an average per plot.

-Shear strength and surface hardness were recorded at trial initiation (6/8/2017) and trial termination (10/17/2017) with a Turf-‐Tec Shear Strength Tester (Newton meters) and a Clegg Impact Meter (G max), respectively. Three readings of each measurement were recorded down the center of each plot and averaged to give one reading per plot.

Results:

-Traffic and wear had a negative impact on all plots regardless of treatment throughout the length of the trial; however, some treatments resulted in greater tolerance to this stress than others, particularly between 12 and 14 WAIT (Figure 1).

-Rotations of Upplause and Rhizonify + Bioblend along with rotations of Gary's Green Ultra + Nutra Green and Rhizonify + Bioblend resulted in NDVI of 0.63, while the untreated check was 0.57 14 WAIT (Figure 1).

-At 16 WAIT, the lowest soil compaction was observed in response to rotations of Upplause Plus and Rhizonify + Bioblend (404 PSI) and Gary's Green Ultra + NutraGreen (409 PSI) (Figure 2).

-The trend was for rotations of Upplause Plus OR Gary's Green Ultra + NutraGreen and Rhizonify + Bioblend to have higher soil volumetric water content (%VWC) compared to urea (N) control(s). These fertilizer and liquid soil amendment treatments did not perform different than the untreated control, however (Figure 3).

-Shear strength and surface compaction in untreated check plots 14 WAIT were 6.6 Nm and 123 G max, respectively. At the conclusion of the trial (18 WAIT), rotations of Upplause and Rhizonify + Bioblend still exhibited the lowest soil compaction (336 PSI) and highest NDVI (0.53) compared to all other treatments. Untreated check plots resulted in soil compaction of 414 PSI and NDVI of 0.46 18 WAIT (Figures 1, 2 and 4).

Figure 1. Impact of foliar nutrient and soil conditioners on Bermudagrass quality as measured by NDVI. Most treatment differences occurred 12-‐14 WAIT.

UPP=Upplause Plus; GGU=Gary’s Green Ultra; NG=Nutra Green; RHIZ=Rhizonify; BB=Bioblend

Fgure 2. Impact of foliar nutrient and soil conditioners on soil compaction. Even as compaction increased 8 WAIT, UPP or GGU + NG rotated with RHIZ + BB treatments offered the lowest soil compaction readings towards the latter part of the trial.

UPP=Upplause Plus; GGU=Gary’s Green Ultra; NG=Nutra Green; RHIZ=Rhizonify; BB=Bioblend

Figure 3. Impact of foliar nutrient and soil conditioners on volumetric water content (%VMC). Generally, any BRANDT/GRIGG treatment or combination treatment including UPP or GGU + NG rotated with RHIZ + BB treatments higher

%VWC compared to urea, but not different from the untreated control.

UPP=Upplause Plus; GGU=Gary’s Green Ultra; NG=Nutra Green; RHIZ=Rhizonify; BB=Bioblend

Figure 4. Impact of foliar nutrient and soil conditioners on Bermudagrass shear strength. 14 WAIT, UPP or GGU + NG rotated with RHIZ and BB provided the best shear strength, a good indication of improved turfgrass vigor and playability. UPP=Upplause Plus; GGU=Gary’s Green Ultra; NG=Nutra Green; RHIZ=Rhizonify; BB=Bioblend

* (P=0.05)

Figure 5.

Recommendations:

-Maximize turfgrass performance and sports turf playability by rotating foliar (GGU + NG) or liquid fertilizer (UPP) applications with select liquid soil conditioners (RHIZ + BB).

-Utilize GRIGG organic chelation technology (GGU and NG) OR BRANDT iHammer advanced fertilizer technology (UPP) and GRIGG liquid soil conditioners (RHIZ and BB) to optimize turfgrass performance and soil physical parameters on high traffic sports fields.

-Rotate nutrition (Brandt iHAMMER or GRIGG) AND liquid soil conditioners (GRIGG) to decreased compaction, increase %VMC, improve turf quality (NDVI) and increase turf shear strength.