Turfgrass Nutrition and Irrigation Water Quality

Abstract

Turfgrass sites are increasingly irrigated with low-quality water sources, which may complicate nutritional programs by excessive addition of nutrients or problem ions by causing imbalances. Irrigation sources of most concern are nutrient-rich reclaimed water (i.e., reuse water) and those containing high concentrations of soluble salts. Factors contributing to difficulties in fertility programming are (a) increased temporal and geospatial (by soil depth and across the landscape) variability in soil nutrient/ion status; (b) addition of high levels of chemical constituents to the soil–plant system via the irrigation water, irrigation water treatments (i.e., acidification), and soil amendments such as gypsum; (c) salinity leaching programs that also leach soil nutrients; (d) changes in irrigation lake water quality, such as seasonal fluctuations due to rainfall dilution (i.e., dry and rainy seasons), intake locations across the lake surface, or lake depth; (e) attention to environmental and sustainability issues; and (f) on saline sites, achieving fertilization goals are more complex, requiring attention to maintaining root viability, maximizing grass salinity tolerance, and addressing unique nutritional requirements of new halophytic grasses. Addressing these issues requires proactive and frequent soil, water, and tissue testing; appropriate soil tests; and improved means to quantify spatial soil nutrient and salinity status via spatial mapping.

Keywords:

• Irrigation
• plant nutrition
• turfgrass