1998 Iowa Turfgrass Research Report
Effects of Bio-Flex-A-Clay on Creeping Bentgrass Establishment and Growth
Nick E. Christians, Melissa C. McDade, David D. Minner, Deying Li, and Young K. Joo
Introduction:
Bio-Flex-A-Clay is a product of True Pitch, Inc. of Altoona, Iowa. Flex-A-Clay is a material normally used for stabilization of pitching mounds and other athletic field areas. Bio-Flex-A-Clay is the same product with a kelp material incorporated on the Flex-A-Clay. Preliminary field tests conducted at Iowa State University in 1996 and 1997 demonstrated improved establishment of creeping bentgrass in sand-based field plots that had been treated with Bio-Flex-A-Clay. The study discussed in this report was designed to determine which of the components of this product were responsible for the improved establishment observed in the field studies.
Objectives:
The objectives of the study were to observe the effects of Bio-Flex-A-Clay, each of its component parts, and of equivalent amounts of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), on the establishment, growth, and root development of creeping bentgrass under controlled environmental conditions in the greenhouse. Dakota peat, a standard used for rootzone modification, was also included as a comparison.
Materials and Methods:
Pure sand that had been screened to meet United States Golf Association (USGA) standards for golf course green construction was used as the growing media. The sand media was placed in plastic sleeves with a 1.5-inch inside diameter, 1.77 sq. inch surface area, and length of 24 inches. The soil profile followed USGA recommendations for putting green construction. Each profile had a 14-inch rootzone, a 2-inch intermediate layer, and an 8-inch pea gravel subgrade. The plastic sleeve was then inserted into a 2-inch diameter PVC pipe and placed on a 30° angle from vertical. Roots growing in a downward direction intercepted the plastic sleeve and were visually measured using a non-destructive technique. The sleeve was sealed on the bottom and punctured to provide drainage.
The amendments (Table 1) were incorporated into the upper six inches of mixture. The treatments included pure sand as a control with no amendments, the Bio-Flex-A-Clay at 2.5, 5, and 10% v/v of the mixture, N-P-K treatment that contained equivalent amounts of nutrients as supplied by the kelp in the Bio-Flex-A-Clay treatment, Flex-A-Clay alone with no kelp, polymer alone, the clay alone, the kelp alone, Clay+polymer+kelp, and Dakota peat at 10% v/v. Crenshaw creeping bentgrass was seeded at 4.9 g/m2 to the surface. A randomized complete block design with four replications was used. The study was initiated in October, 1997 and terminated on January 24, 1998. Data were collected on the number of days required for plants to become established to the three-leaf stage, shoot density, and total root biomass. Weekly evaluations of rooting depth were made by lifting the plastic sleeves from the PVC pipe and measuring the longest root.
Table 1. Bio-Flex-A-Clay Greenhouse Study -1997/98.
1
Control
Pure sand
100%
2
Bio-Flex-A-Clay (BFAC)
BFAC 2.5% (v/v)
4.51 g dry wt. basis
3
Chemical Fertilizer. #1
same N, P, K for ‘Trt
2’
10.8 mg N, 0.4 mg P, 7.2 mg
K
4
Bio-Flex-A-Clay (BFAC)
BFAC 5.0% (v/v)
9.03 g dry wt. basis
5
Chemical Fertilizer. #2
same N, P, K for ‘Trt
4’
21.7 mg N, 0.8 mg P, 14.3 mg
K
6
Bio-Flex-A-Clay (BFAC)
BFAC 10% (v/v)
18.05 g dry wt. basis
7
Chemical Fertilizer. #3
same N, P, K for ‘Trt
6’
43.3 mg N, 1.59 mg P, 28.6 mg
K
8
Flex-A-Clay (FAC)
FAC 10%
22.01 g same volume of ‘Trt
6’
9
Clay
Clay (20.2% w/w)
3.65 g same amount in ‘Trt
6’
10
Polymer
Polymer (7.1% w/w)
1.28 g same amount in ‘Trt
6’
11
Kelp
Kelp (6.6% w/w)
1.19 g same amount in ‘Trt
6’
12
Clay + Polymer + Kelp
Trt (9+10+11)
same amount in ‘Trt
6’
13
Peat
Dakota peat 10% (v/v)
14.67 cm3
There were no significant differences among the treatments in the number of days for the newly established plants to reach the 3-leaf stage (Table 2). Root length increased from 19.2 cm in the control to 37 cm in the 2.5% Bio-Flex-A-Clay treatments, to 43.8 cm in the 5% Bio-Flex-A-Clay, to 63.7 cm in the 10% Bio-Flex-A-Clay treatment. The maximum root length observed at the end of the project was greatest in the treatments that received the Bio-Flex-A-Clay at 10% v/v. This root length in the 10% Bio-Flex-A-Clay treatment was 3.4 times greater than in treatments that received an equivalent amount of N-P-K, was 2.8 times greater than the treatment that received an equivalent amount of kelp to that included in the 10% Bio-Flex-A-Clay treatment, and 1.7 times greater than Dakota peat.
Shoot density was highly variable. The Dakota peat had the highest shoot density at termination. The Bio-Flex-A-Clay provided no apparent advantage in shoot density. The effect of the peat was likely due to extra water holding capacity, which would improve seedling establishment in the sand media.
Root biomass was 6.3 times higher in the 10% v/v Bio-Flex-A-Clay treatment than in the control and nearly double any of the other treatments. The bentgrass treated with Bio-Flex-A-Clay had 8.3 times more roots than the sand treated with Flex-A-Clay alone. There were 3.7 times more roots in the 10% v/v Bio-Flex-A-Clay treatment than in the 5% treatment. Treatments that included Bio-Flex-A-Clay at the 10% level had 1.9 times more root mass than units modified with the Dakota peat.
Weekly evaluations of root growth taken during the study showed a clear advantage to the 10% v/v Bio-Flex-A-Clay treatment (Figure 1). This was true from the first testing date and continued throughout the study.
CONCLUSION
There was a clear advantage in rooting of creeping bentgrass that was treated with the Bio-Flex-A-Clay. The 10% v/v treatment with this material was much better than the 2.5 or 5% Bio-Flex-A-Clay treatments. It also far exceeded the rooting in treatments that contained the same N-P-K rates as that provided by the kelp contained in the Bio-Flex-A-Clay and it exceeded sand treated with equivalent amounts of kelp without the Flex-A-Clay and treatments receiving Dakota peat. There was no apparent advantage in shoot density in units treated with Bio-Flex-A-Clay in this greenhouse trial although we did see a clear advantage in shoot density in early field trials.
More work should be conducted under field conditions to determine if topdressing with Bio-Flex-A-Clay provides any advantage in sand-based systems.
We would like to acknowledge the National Natural Science Foundation of China for partial support of this research.
Table 2. Effects of inorganic soil modification on bentgrass growth.
Treatments
1
Pure sand
36.3
19.2
2.80
0.025
2
Bio-Flex-A-Clay 2.5% (v/v)
37.3
37.0
2.23
0.047
3
10.8 mg N, 0.4mg P, 7.2 mg K
41.5
27.1
1.30
0.016
4
Bio-Flex-A-Clay 5.0% (v/v)
38.0
43.8
0.88
0.043
5
21.7 mg N, 0.8 mg P, 14.3 mg K
36.3
28.0
1.13
0.010
6
Bio-Flex-A-Clay 10% (v/v)
31.5
63.7
2.73
0.157
7
43.3 mg N, 1.59 mg P, 28.6 mg K
41.5
19.0
3.70
0.062
8
Flex-A-Clay 10% (v/v)
43.0
21.9
1.78
0.019
9
Clay 20.2% (w/w)
38.5
30.3
3.68
0.036
10
Polymer 7.1% (w/w)
33.3
10.9
0.40
0.003
11
Kelp 6.6% (w/w)
27.0
22.9
3.15
0.070
12
Clay, Polymer, Kelp
32.3
29.4
2.98
0.076
13
Dakota Peat 10% (v/v)
31.3
38.4
4.25
0.084
LSD0.05
11.2
1.88
0.044
Stage2
(days after seeding)
Density3
(# of shoot/cm2)
Biomass4
(g/column)
1NS = Not significant at 0.05 level
2Seeded Oct. 16, 1997
3Measured Jan. 15, 1998
4Measured Jan. 24, 1998. Column equals 11.1 cm2 (1.77 inch2) X 60 cm
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ISU Horticulture:Publications:1998 Turfgrass Report | College of Agriculture |