Research Summaries
Evaluating the Potential Benefits of Adding Compost and/or Microclover to New and Established Turfgrass Stands Virginia Tech Researcher: Mike Goatley, Ph.D., Professor and Turfgrass Extension Specialist; Whitnee Askew, Senior Technician; Jeffrey F. Derr, Ph.D., Professor of Weed Science; and Adam Nichols, Research Assistant Cooperators: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, University of Maryland, Penn State University, Mike Zirkle and Robert Habel (Winton Country Club, Amherst, VA)
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irginia Tech (along with Penn State) is conducting satellite demonstrations as part of a University of Maryland–funded grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation examining the potential benefits of compost and/or microclover addition as part of turfgrass management programs. The research is being conducted at Winton Country Club in Amherst, VA, and at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Virginia Beach. The objectives of this project are: (1) to evaluate and promote the adoption of compost incorporation prior to turf establishment as a best management practice within new residential developments; (2) to reduce lawn nitrogen (N) fertilizer use by promoting the use of lawn seed mixtures that contain microclover; and (3) to show that stormwater volume will be reduced and stormwater quality improved by implementing the first and second objectives within a residential development. The work at Winton C.C. is utilizing tall fescue for its establishment trial and an existing mixed-stand of cool-season grasses for the incorporation of compost and microclover into an existing turf stand at its site, while the Virginia Beach site is utilizing bermudagrass as its predominant turf cover for both trials. Microclover is essentially a smaller version of the traditional white clover (Trifolium repens L.). Our observations suggest that it flowers deeper in the turf 26 | Virginia Turfgrass Journal
canopy, thus not being as disruptive to turf uniformity as traditional stands of white clover. The premise is that the microclover, as a legume, will release some of the N fixed by the symbiotic relationship between the grass and soil-borne Rhizobium bacteria that fix the N. To date, we have not observed a significant turf color or quality enhancement from the incorporation of the microclover into the newly planted or Compost response on tall fescue.
established turf plots. The compost treatments (2" pre-plant incorporated into the establishment trial site; 1/4" depth topdressing annually for the established site where materials are introduced) continue to benefit the overall enhancement of color and density of the grasses at both sites (Figure 1), and there is a trend for the compostamended soils to have increased water infiltration and percolation rates. This research continues through 2014. c