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Response of Coastal Bermudagrass to Tillage and Fertilizers on an Eroded Grayland Soil¹

Soils of the Wilson-Crockett-Burleson and the Burleson-Heiden-Crockett associations in the Blackland and Prairie have poor water relations and low fertility. The result is low crop production in many cases. The poor water relations are caused, in part, by a claypan that is often near the soil surface. The objective of this study was to impose various tillage and fertilizer treatments on a representative low-producing area of these soils to determine the feasibility of renovation to improve forage production by Coastal bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L.). The soil at the experimental site was a Crockett sandy clay loam (Uderic Paleustalf, fine, montmorillonitic, thermic).

The site was chiseled about 15 cm deep with chisels on 1 m centers the first year of the study only. Fertilizer treatments were imposed on the chiseled area and an adjacent area not chiseled. Forage yields were measured. Chiseling increased forage production throughout the study. When N application was 140 kg/ha and greater, forage production from the chiseled site was up to 3.3 times greater than from the area not chiseled. Breaking the claypan probably allowed greater infiltration of rainwater and applied fertilizer, thereby improving the environment for forage production.

On an adjacent area, tilled to a depth of 1.5 m, forage production was the same on deep-tilled and nontilled areas during the first year of the study. During the second year, forage production was increased by deep-tillage and increased further when the deep-tilled areas were treated with gypsum at 11 metric ton/ha.

Key Words: Chisel tillage • Erosion • Grass production • Claypan soils • Salinity

² Associate professor, TAES, and soil scientist, USDA-SEA-AR, P. O. Box 748, Temple, TX 76501, respectively. The senior author is presently professor, Dep. of Agron. Kansas State Univ. Manhattan, KS 66506.

Received for publication October 13, 1978.