Agronomy Journal 92:479-484 (2000)
© 2000 American Society of Agronomy
FORAGE MANAGEMENT
`Georgia-5' Tall Fescue Establishment Responses to Amendment of Louisiana Coastal Plain Soils
W.D. Pitman
Louisiana State Univ. Agric. Center, Rosepine Res. Stn., P.O. Box 26, Rosepine, LA 70659 USA
wpitman{at}agctr.lsu.edu
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ABSTRACT
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Release of `Georgia-5' tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) expanded the range of this species into the Coastal Plain of the southeastern USA. Initial plantings indicated that responses to lime and P may be greater on infertile, acid Coastal Plain soils than reported within the primary area of adaptation. Three field experiments and a greenhouse experiment were conducted on Louisiana Coastal Plain soils. In the field, all combinations of 50 kg P ha-1, 90 kg K ha-1, and 4.0 Mg lime ha-1 were applied. In one experiment, all treatments which included P increased establishment-year forage yield, with an increase from 310 kg ha-1 for the control to 1500 kg ha-1 with P alone. Plant responses to lime were obtained at this site in the second year. In the other experiments, drought apparently precluded responses at one site, while plant stands improved with lime at the other site. Linear plant responses to P up to 80 kg ha-1 (soil P of 142 mg kg-1) and a quadratic response to lime were obtained in the greenhouse. These results illustrate variation in responses to be expected with fertility, rainfall, and other growing conditions, but still indicate the importance of P and lime to Georgia-5 tall fescue seedlings on acid, infertile Coastal Plain soils. Responses in stand establishment are suggested to soil levels of P and Ca or pH beyond those typically recommended for other regions.
Abbreviations: DM, dry matter
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INTRODUCTION
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COOL-SEASON ANNUAL GRASSES and legumes have been used extensively as pasture plants on the Coastal Plain of the southeastern USA to provide winter grazing. Adapted perennial cool-season forage grasses for most of this region have not been available until the recent development of Georgia-5 tall fescue (Bouton et al., 1993). Recent evaluations and experiences indicate that stand establishment and persistence of Georgia-5 are often dependent upon site characteristics and management. Generalized recommendations for establishment of tall fescue have typically noted the need for adequate N, P, and K, as illustrated by Sleper and Buckner (1995). Adaptation of tall fescue to soil pH ranging from 4.5 to 9.5 has been suggested (Barnes, 1990; Sleper and Buckner, 1995). Adjustment of pH on acid soils to a range of 6.0 to 7.0 for the benefit of companion legumes has been recommended (Sleper and Buckner, 1995). The characteristic slow seedling growth of tall fescue (Barnes, 1990; Sleper and Buckner, 1995), marginal adaptation, and aggressive competition from summer weeds or companion forages necessitate that competitive advantages for establishment of tall fescue on the Coastal Plain be identified and effectively used.
Previous evaluations of tall fescue on highly acid soils have shown responses to lime and P (Shoop et al., 1961; Palazzo and Duell, 1974; Murray and Foy, 1978). Both lime and P responses were evident within 14 d of plant emergence (Shoop et al., 1961), suggesting substantial benefits for seedling development. Differential responses to soil pH between cultivars and among individual plants within a cultivar have been obtained (Murray and Foy, 1978). Detrimental effects of low pH, including reduced shoot and root growth, lower vigor, and reduced competitive ability, occurred on strongly acid soils with pH below 5.5 (Murray and Foy, 1978). Maximum plant growth was obtained from about pH 6.0 to 7.0, with declining growth at higher pH (Shoop et al., 1961; Palazzo and Duell, 1974). Shoop et al. (1961) also reported some reciprocal compensation of lime and P. The association of the lime response with amelioration of Al toxicity (Shoop et al., 1961; Fleming et al., 1974; Murray and Foy, 1978) and P response only to low rates of fertilizer on limed soils (Shoop et al., 1961) have essentially limited the recommendation and use of these soil amendments to somewhat modest levels for tall fescue.
Observations of trial plantings of Georgia-5 on Louisiana Coastal Plain sites indicated that differing fertilization history among sites may have contributed to differing levels of success in stand establishment. Thus, responses in establishment of Georgia-5 tall fescue to soil amendments were evaluated on both highly acid, low-fertility soil and slightly acid, previously amended soil.
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Materials and methods
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Experiment 1
Establishment of Georgia-5 tall fescue in response to lime, P, and K was evaluated on three west Louisiana Coastal Plain sites. The eight treatments imposed included an unamended control and all possible combinations of a single rate of each amendment. Treatments were applied in a randomized complete block design with four replications at each site immediately before planting. Rates were 4.0 Mg ha-1 of finely ground calcitic lime, 50 kg P ha-1, and 90 kg K ha-1, which were broadcast by hand and rotovated into the upper 10 cm of soil. Plots were 2 by 7.5 m with a 1-m space between plots. Seed was broadcast at 35 kg ha-1. Site 1 was an acid, infertile Guyton silt loam (fine-silty, siliceous, active, thermic Typic Glossaqualf), which was planted on 16 Nov. 1995. Sites 2 and 3 were Angie very fine sandy loam (fine, mixed, semiactive, thermic Aquic Paleudult), which had been amended with lime and fertilizer in previous years. Site 2 was planted on 10 Mar. 1997, and Site 3 was planted on 19 Dec. 1997. Nitrogen was applied at the rate of 50 kg N ha-1 3 wk after planting. Subsequent applications of 50 kg N ha-1 were made to Site 1 in February 1996 and 1997 and to Sites 2 and 3 in February 1998.
Data collected included visual stand ratings at all three sites, herbage dry matter (DM) yield and leaf length measurements at Site 1, tiller counts at Sites 1 and 2, initial seedling counts at Site 3, and soil analysis of each plot sampled immediately before treatment applications and five months after planting. Stand ratings were on a scale of 0 for no plants to 9 for a complete, dense stand. Stand ratings were on 8 Feb. 1996 and 20 May 1997 at Site 1, 23 Feb. 1998 at Site 2, and 23 Feb. 1998 and 22 Apr. 1998 at Site 3. Dry matter yield was determined at Site 1 on 11 Apr. 1996 and 22 May 1997. A 1.5- by 6-m strip in the center of each plot was harvested and sampled for DM determination. Tiller counts on 30 May 1997 for Site 1 and 12 May 1998 for Site 2 were made on two 500-cm2 samples per plot. Seedling counts were made on two 1-m2 samples per plot at Site 3 on 20 Jan. 1998. Leaf length of the first leaf below the flag leaf on mature tillers was determined on five plants per plot at Site 1 on 20 May 1997. Soil samples were analyzed for P, K, Ca, and pH (1:1 H2O). Soil analyses were according to procedures described by Dunigan (1989). Phosphorus was extracted with Bray No. 2 solution, and exchangeable K and Ca were extracted with NH4OAc. Within sites, data were analyzed by analysis of variance with significant (P < 0.05) treatment responses separated by least significant difference means separation procedures.
Experiment 2
Seedling responses to rates of lime and P were evaluated in a greenhouse experiment in the spring of 1996. A factorial arrangement of treatments was replicated four times in a randomized complete block design. Lime and P rates were 0, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 Mg ha-1 of finely ground, calcitic lime and 0, 20, 40, and 80 kg P ha-1. Each experimental unit consisted of a row of eight 38-mm-diameter by 168-mm-deep cones (149 mm3 volume per cone) in a polyethylene seedling tray. Soil amendments were mixed thoroughly with the complete volume of soil, placed in the containers, and watered on 1 Mar. 1996. Soil was from the upper 100 mm of a Guyton silt loam adjacent to the field planting at Site 1. Planting at the rate of 10 seeds per cone was on 14 Mar. 1996. Soil moisture was maintained near field capacity. Plants were grown in a greenhouse covered with black polypropylene shade fabric, which permitted approximately 20% of the photosynthetically active radiation to pass through it.
Plant DM yield was determined from herbage clipped at the soil surface on 4 Apr. and 2 May 1996. At the 2 May clipping, the experiment was terminated and plant roots and soil were recovered. Soil was analyzed for P, K, Ca, Mg, and pH as in Experiment 1. In addition, plant tissue from the regrowth clipping was analyzed for Ca, Mg, P, K, S, Zn, Mn, Fe, B, and Al by inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy (Huang and Schulte, 1985). Data were analyzed by analysis of variance with linear and quadratic responses to rates of lime and P evaluated by regression analysis.
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Results
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Experiment 1
Responses to treatment applications were inconsistent, but trends in soil analyses that generally followed treatment applications were discernable. Treatment means for soil P at Site 1 ranged from 14 mg kg-1 for the control to a high of 39 mg kg-1, but treatments did not differ (P > 0.05) in soil P at this site or Site 2. Responses to P application were obtained on Site 3 when lime was also applied. Soil differences (P < 0.05) were obtained with K only at Site 1 (Table 1)
. Treatments that received lime had both higher (P < 0.05) Ca levels and higher (P < 0.05) pH than did treatments not amended with lime at all three sites. Even though statistically significant soil P differences were not detected among treatments at Site 1, all treatments that received P fertilizer had higher (P < 0.05) stand ratings than treatments not receiving P at ratings on 8 Feb. 1996 (Table 2)
. Yields on 11 Apr. 1996 also followed this pattern, although not as distinctly (Table 2). By the second growing season, responses to lime were detected in both plant stand ratings and yields at Site 1. At Site 2, stand ratings of treatments receiving lime were greater than ratings of treatments not receiving lime (Table 2). Site 3, which had the highest initial P, Ca, and pH levels, did not produce differences in plant responses among treatments (Table 2). Despite adequate initial seedling numbers for stand establishment at this site (Table 2), severe drought in late spring 1998 (Table 3)
resulted in complete stand loss with no effect of soil amendments.
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Table 1 Responses of soils to field applications of lime, P, and K on a Guyton silt loam (Site 1) and an Angie very fine sandy loam (Sites 2 and 3)
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Table 2 Plant responses to fertilizer treatments during establishment of Georgia-5 tall fescue stands on the Louisiana Coastal Plain
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Table 3 Monthly rainfall during the primary growing period of tall fescue at Rosepine, LA, for three growing seasons
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Tiller counts at the end of the second growing season at Site 1 indicated that all soil amendments resulted in stand improvements compared with the unamended control (Table 2). The combination of lime, P, and K produced more tillers than did any amendment alone or P plus K without lime. At Site 2, responses in tiller numbers were somewhat less than those at Site 1 with the contrast of a more distinct response to K alone. Lower tiller number for Site 2 than Site 1 was probably due to greater competition from warm-season grasses with the spring planting at Site 2. The more drastic effect of drought on plants at Site 3 than Site 2 was probably due to plants at Site 3 being in the seedling stage, while those at Site 2 were established plants by the spring of 1998. Not only were plant stands and resulting yields affected by soil amendments at planting, but vigor of established plants as indicated by leaf length differed at the end of the second growing season at Site 1 (Table 2). Plants receiving the combination of all three amendments produced longer leaves than did those from the other treatments (Table 2).
Experiment 2
Application of lime increased soil Ca (Table 4)
and soil pH (Table 5)
. At the highest two rates of lime, the highest rate of P moderated the effect of lime on soil pH (Table 5). Positive plant responses to lime were obtained in initial aboveground plant growth, plant regrowth, root mass, and plant tissue concentrations of Ca, Mg, S, and Fe (Tables 4 and 5). Plant tissue concentrations of K, Al, Zn, and Mn were reduced by lime (Tables 4 and 5).
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Table 4 Responses to rates of lime during seedling development of Georgia-5 tall fescue in the greenhouse on Guyton silt loam soil (Experiment 2).
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Table 5 Responses to rates of lime and P involving treatment interactions during seedling development of Georgia-5 tall fescue in the greenhouse on a Guyton silt loam soil (Experiment 2)
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Phosphorus application provided a linear increase in soil P (Table 6)
and, as mentioned above, moderated the effects on soil pH of the two highest rates of lime when applied at 80 kg P ha-1. Phosphorus increased initial aboveground plant growth and plant regrowth, but did not affect root mass (Table 6). Phosphorus application also increased plant tissue concentrations of P, Ca, B, and Mn (Tables 5 and 6). Where no lime was applied, P application resulted in reduced plant Zn concentration, but this pattern was reversed for all treatments receiving lime (Table 5). In each case, there was little, if any, effect on tissue Zn concentration by the initial increment of P. Phosphorus application resulted in lower plant tissue concentration of Fe.
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Table 6 Responses to rates of P during seedling development of Georgia-5 tall fescue in the greenhouse on Guyton silt loam soil (Experiment 2).
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Discussion
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Potassium responses were expected with the low soil levels of Sites 1 and 3; however, the demand for K by young seedlings is typically low (Vough et al., 1995). Low plant tissue levels of K from the greenhouse (Experiment 2) indicate that the tall fescue seedlings were especially efficient in K utilization. Robinson and Eilers (1996) reported responses of annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) on an infertile silt loam soil in south Louisiana to rates of K up to 600 kg K ha-1 and P up to 160 kg P ha-1. However, in the first year of their 4-yr experiment, a K response was not detected. Annual ryegrass forage yield doubled from 5 Mg ha-1 for the unfertilized control to 10 Mg ha-1 with application of 78 kg P ha-1. Thus, the tall fescue seedling responses to P and K on previously unamended soil (Site 1 and Experiment 2) were similar to responses reported by Robinson and Eilers (1996) for annual ryegrass. Responses in tiller number to K are also consistent with the results of Robinson and Eilers (1996), since tiller number was determined in the second growing season at both Sites 1 and 2. Stands did not survive long enough at Site 3 for assessment of responses in a second growing season.
Dobson et al. (1978) reported that tall fescue tillers in established stands ranged from 1200 to 8800 tillers m-2, with management, including infrequent defoliation, contributing to reduced tiller number. Infrequent defoliation may have contributed to our relatively low tiller numbers. In agreement with responses on Site 2, Malinowski et al. (1998) recently reported increased tiller numbers of tall fescue with increasing soil P. Our overall results indicate that enhanced establishment of Georgia-5 tall fescue can be anticipated from both P and lime on acid, infertile Coastal Plain soils. Initial stand ratings on Sites 1 and 2 illustrate that seedlings may respond to either of these amendments, depending on which is most limiting at a particular site. At Site 1, results of the second rating and 1997 yields compared with those of 1996 suggest a delayed response to lime. Fineness of the lime and responses obtained in Experiment 2 in the greenhouse indicate that the typical delayed response to agricultural lime application was not likely the primary factor limiting initial plant response to lime. Recurring short periods of moisture deficit during seedling development may have precluded early response to lime. Results at Site 3 illustrate that initial seedling responses to these soil amendments may not be obtained on moderately fertile sites and that their application to such sites does not enhance seedling survival of drought.
In addition to the substantial linear increase in soil P with increasing rates of P fertilization in Experiment 2, tissue analyses indicate that P application apparently increased relative plant uptake of P, Ca, Mn, and B and reduced uptake of Fe. Reinbott and Blevins (1994, 1997) previously reported increased leaf Ca and Mg concentrations with P fertilization on low-P soils. Phosphorus application affected Zn, but response depended on lime rate. This contrasts with the results of Rechcigl (1992), who reported no effect of P additions to an acid, infertile sand on exchangeable soil Ca or Fe or on tissue levels of Fe, Mn, or Zn in annual ryegrass. Rechcigl (1992) suggested a liming effect of P on the acid sand, but the only lime-related P effect detected on this silt loam was moderation of the lime effects at high rates of both lime and P. Rechcigl (1992) also obtained increased root growth with P application, but only when no lime was applied, in contrast with the lack of response in tall fescue root growth to P fertilization in Experiment 2. Root growth response of annual ryegrass to lime reported by Rechcigl (1992) also contrasts with the response of tall fescue. Annual ryegrass root growth responded to lime only when P was not added to the acid sand. Root growth of tall fescue seedlings responded to lime on the silt loam regardless of P treatment.
Lime application also had substantial effects on relative plant nutrient uptake by tall fescue seedlings. Tissue analyses indicate that liming effects on this soil may have been associated with availability and uptake of Ca, S, K, Fe, Zn, Mn, and Al. The tall fescue responses concur with those for Ca, P, and K tissue concentrations in bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L.) obtained by Wilkinson et al. (1987) on an acid sandy loam. However, they contrast with the results of Rechcigl (1992) for annual ryegrass on an acid, infertile sand for tissue concentrations of P, Fe, Zn, and Mn. Phosphorus concentration of tall fescue seedlings was not affected by lime, while P concentration of annual ryegrass reported by Rechcigl was reduced by lime. Lime increased Fe concentration in tall fescue seedlings, but Rechcigl reported no effect on annual ryegrass. Both Zn and Mn concentrations of tall fescue seedlings were decreased by lime on the silt loam, while Rechcigl obtained increased concentrations in annual ryegrass on the acid sand. Linear decreases in tissue Al concentration were obtained in both cases. These results illustrate the dramatic differences among soil types and plant species in response to lime and P treatments. While both lime and P application can contribute to establishment of tall fescue on acid, infertile Coastal Plain soils, the complexity of interactions with other nutrients suggests that the most efficient fertilization program for tall fescue establishment may depend upon an increased understanding of interacting responses among macro- and micronutrients within both the soil and seedlings.
Continuing response of tall fescue regrowth and root mass to rates up to 4.0 Mg ha-1 of lime in the greenhouse (Experiment 2), even though pH approached 7.0 at the 2.0 Mg ha-1 rate of lime, suggests a potential benefit from lime even on soils above pH 6.0. This contrasts with results from Site 3 in the field, where moisture limitations may have restricted potential of plants to respond to soil amendments. While even the pH response from the finely ground lime in the greenhouse was greater than levels typically reported for other soils, the plant growth response particularly contrasts with responses expected from lime (Robinson, 1996). One possible explanation is a response to a substantially higher concentration of Ca or a greater sensitivity to Al in the soil solution by this grass than is typical for most grasses. Such a response may occur primarily during rapid tillering. Similarly, the linear responses of both initial growth and regrowth to P fertilization up to 80 kg P ha-1 in the greenhouse (Experiment 2) suggest possible tall fescue seedling response to P beyond levels normally expected. Soil P at the 40 kg P ha-1 rate in this greenhouse experiment exceeded the high soil P classification of 80 mg kg-1. This response concurs with the observation of Vough et al. (1995) that P is especially critical during plant establishment, and that high soil concentrations from banding P immediately below the seed can be effective even on soils of medium soil P.
In agreement with previous research evaluating other tall fescue cultivars on infertile, acid soils (Shoop et al., 1961; Palazzo and Duell, 1974; Murray and Foy, 1978), stand establishment of tall fescue on the Louisiana Coastal Plain can be particularly responsive to lime and P application. While the most dramatic results may be produced on highly acid, infertile soils, responses may also be obtained with additional increments of these amendments. Liming to provide Ca in the high range (greater than 900 mg kg-1) rather than simply exceeding the low limit of 700 mg kg-1 has potential to enhance both top growth and root growth of tall fescue seedlings. As with K, the response to lime may be more apparent under field conditions with rapid tillering in the second year than with initial seedlings. Responses to P, though modest, may be obtained even above the high classification of 80 mg kg-1 soil P. These results indicate that application of high rates of lime and P for the establishment period can enhance stand establishment of Georgia-5 tall fescue on shallow, droughty, infertile Coastal Plain soils. Such responses are more likely with adequate soil moisture, and addition of these soil amendments does not provide amelioration of drought effects on tall fescue seedlings. Although the immediate yield response, especially at moderate initial levels of soil Ca and P, may not justify the additional nutrients, the benefit in enhanced stands in subsequent years certainly could.
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NOTES
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Published as Louisiana Agric. Exp. Stn. article 96-92-0276.
Received for publication August 15, 1999.
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REFERENCES
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TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
