| dc.description.abstract | The use of soilless substrates in the greenhouse and nursery industries has increased in recent years. While these substrates provide consistency and initial sterility, they are often hydrophobic, especially if they dry out between irrigations. For the turf industry, water conservation strategies are becoming more important as irrigation water availability is decreasing. Synthetic polyacrylamides, such as AquaSmart, may help with initial water and nutrient absorption in greenhouse substrate and mineral soils, and increase the water holding capacity of those substrates. These studies evaluated the effects of AquaSmart on growth rate, substrate water retention, and days to permanent wilting of ornamental flowers; nutrient leaching and dry-down rates of soilless substrate amended with fertilizer; establishment and growth of newly seeded and sodded bermudagrass, sod establishment under different irrigation regimes, drought tolerance of established bermudagrass. Results indicated some significant effects of AquaSmart on plant growth, irrigation frequency and volume, and days to permanent wilt, although there was also variation within the ornamental species; significant differences in leaching rates of nitrate, ammonium, and phosphorus from the soilless media with phosphorus, ammonium, and nitrate all showing significantly linear responses; significant differences in substrate dry-down rates under three different fertilizer regimes with the no fertilizer treatment taking the longest to dry down; and irrigation regimes in turfgrass sod giving strongly significant results with little strong interaction between AquaSmart rate and turf quality, percent green cover, normalized difference vegetation index, or volumetric water content. | |
