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dc.contributor.authorPatriquin, David G.
dc.contributor.authorReid, D.A.
dc.contributor.authorWalsh, B.D.
dc.date.accessioned2012-01-14T13:10:56Z
dc.date.available2012-01-14T13:10:56Z
dc.date.issued1996-10-30
dc.identifier.citationPatriquin, D.G., Reid, D.A. and Walsh, M.D. 1996. The Oaks Experiments on Organic Management of Turf: Final Industry Report, 370 pp. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Edmonds Landscape and Construction Services Limited.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10222/14419
dc.description.abstractThe Oaks experiments were designed to address practical questions about organic management of turfs (lawns, sports fields etc.), notably: (i) How do we use organic fertilizers and soil-building amendments on turf for maximum aesthetic benefit without overusing them? (ii) What turf species and mixtures are most suitable for organically managed turfs? The experiments were conducted at an urban site (“The Oaks”) in Halifax, Nova Scotia over three full growing seasons (1992-1994), with some observations continued over a fourth season. There were two main experiments. In the “fertility experiment”, turf quality and soil variables were compared between plots with different combinations of fertility amendments (none, potato compost, brewery waste, mineral fertilizer, ) incorporated in the soil before seeding and four levels of an organofertilizer (7-9-7) applied as topdressings 2-3 times annually to established turf beginning in the fall of the first year; to simulate conventional fertilizer management, mineral fertilizer rather than organofertilizer was applied as a topdressing on plots in which mineral fertilizer was incorporated initially. The design was a split plot with incorporated amendments as the main plot variable and level of organofertilizer as the subplot variable. There were four replicates of the main plots, three on an old lawn (the “ B field”, approx. 6% SOM) that was renovated for the experiment and one on an adjacent site where 6” (15 cm) of ordinary grade topsoil was laid down over fill (the “F field”, approx. 3 % SOM). The plots were seeded with “Ecomix”, a blend of Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass and fine fescues; a subplot in each of the mineral fertilizer main plots on the B field was seeded with a mixture of two Kentucky bluegrass cultivars. In the “mixture experiment”, turf quality variables were examined for three mixtures (Ecomix. Greenfast and Tall Fescues) with and without white clover. In addition, seven subsidiary experiments were conducted, e.g., comparing turf quality between mulch mowed and bag mowed plots. White clover (considered a desirable component of the sward under organic management) germinated from a seedbank and appeared in abundance on the B field in the second year, while on the F field it invaded as clonal patches; this complicated observations and interpretations but allowed us to document effects of the fertility regimes on clover establishment. Observations included standard soil tests, measures of soil biological activity, and measures of turf quality, including greenness ranked visually and with a chlorophyll. meter, clippings biomass, verdure (top biomass below clippings), nutrient content, cover by clover and weeds, turf species composition and ratings for diseases. Amongst the results: annual amendments of organofertilizer providing 0-3 lbs N/1000 sq ft (0-146 kg N/ha) were required for desirable turf quality, with lower quantities required on higher organic matter soils, where clover was a significant component of the sward and where turf was mulch mowed rather than bag mowed; there were marked differences in response to soil amendments and topdressed organofertilizer but not to turf mixtures between the B field and the F field; clover abundance in the second year was highest on treatments with low levels of available soil N during the establishment year; late fall, “dormant” application of organofertilizer improved greening up in the spring and reduced winter injury compared to early fall application; electrical conductivity (EC) of soil suspensions varied with fertility treatments - it is suggested that EC could be used as a diagnostic tool in organic turf management, e.g., to indicate sites of over-fertilization; there was no evidence for P limitation, based on leaf tissue P levels, on soils in which Mehlich-3 soil P values varied over the range 2 to 445 ppm – evidently much of the P cycles through organic P, not measured in commonly used soil P tests; fertility treatments had marked effects on occurrence of red thread (fungal disease); Kentucky bluegrass proved to the most susceptible, amongst grass species. to diseases (red thread, anthracnose and two leaf spot diseases); tall fescues mixtures produced the darkest green turf in summer but suffered high winter injury, late fall bleaching of leaves, susceptibility to pink snow mold and poor overall appearance for the first month of spring; Kentucky bluegrass subplots on NPK main plots were highly susceptible to invasion by bentgrass and white clover.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipCanada-Nova Scotia Cooperation Agreement on Sustainable Economic Development, Edmonds Landscape and Construction Services Limited, Dalhousie University, St. Mary’s Universityen_US
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherEdmonds Landscape and Construction Services Limited, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.en_US
dc.subjectTurfs
dc.subjectTurf quality
dc.subjectLawns
dc.subjectOrganic
dc.subjectSpent grain
dc.subjectPotato compost
dc.subjectCompost
dc.subjectOrganofertilizer
dc.subjectFish fertilizer
dc.subjectNPK fertilizer
dc.subjectWhite clover
dc.subjectTrifolium repens
dc.subjectGrass
dc.subjectGrass mixtures
dc.subjectTall fescues
dc.subjectKentucky bluegrass
dc.subjectRyegrass
dc.subjectFescues
dc.subjectChinch bug
dc.subjectWeeds
dc.subjectRed thread
dc.subjectAnthracnose
dc.subjectLeaf spot
dc.subjectThatch
dc.subjectBag mowing
dc.subjectMulch mowing
dc.subjectSoil
dc.subjectTopsoil
dc.subjectSoil audits
dc.subjectElectrical conductivity
dc.subjectSoil test calibration
dc.subjectSoil biological activity
dc.subjectSoil organic matter
dc.subjectDormant feed fertilizer
dc.subjectNova Scotia
dc.titleThe Oaks Experiments on Organic Management of Turf: Final Industry Reporten_US
dc.typeTechnical Reporten_US
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