D. Compost Application into Planting Holes

Table 8.10



Influence of Compost in Planting Holes on Vigor and Yield of

Apple Trees



Amendment and Ratez



1989



Control

Peat (5 L/tree)

BB compost (5 L/tree)

MSW compost (5 L/tree)



1.76 by

1.88 a

1.86 a

1.78 b



Shoot Radius (cm)

1990

1991

2.73

2.83

2.85

2.71



b

a

a

b



3.54

3.66

3.68

3.52



b

a

a

b



1992



Yield (kg/tree)

1991

1992



4.33

4.36

4.41

4.29



3.63

4.36

4.18

3.60



b

a

a

b



8.69

9.73

9.97

8.09



b

a

a

c



Note: Values are means of six trials.

z BB = biosolids/bark; MSW = municipal solid waste.

y Means followed by the same letter are not statistically different (Duncan multiple

range test, P ≤ 0.05).

From Pinamonti, F. and G. Zorzi, 1996. Experiences of compost use in agriculture

and in land reclamation projects, p. 520. In: M. De Bertoldi et al. (eds.). The Science

of Composting, Part 1. Blackie Academic and Professional, London. With permission.



salt content of the MSW compost contributed to the lack of a beneficial response.

Improved growth responses were reported with annual applications of compost in

mound-layered trees for the production of apple rootstocks in comparison to peat

and rice (Oryza sativa L.) chaff (Pinamonti, 1998b). Compost applications in citrus

(Citrus spp.) planting holes also can reduce the presence of Phytophthora nicotianae

both in the nursery and in the field (Widmer et al., 1998).



IV. CONCLUSION

Compost utilization in fruit production systems as a soil organic amendment

increases organic matter content, supplies nutrients, and improves soil physical

properties. The use of compost alone is not sufficient to meet crop nutritional

requirements. Therefore, compost integrated with reduced rates of inorganic fertilizers may be an effective alternative to improve infertile soils used for fruit culture.

In fact, mixed compost/inorganic fertilizer applications are not only complementary

but also synergistic since soil organic amendments provide a greater efficiency of

inorganic fertilizers and irrigation water for plant nutrient availability. In fruit production systems, compost provides a slow and gradual release of nutrients that does

not induce excessive vegetative growth or reduce fruit quality.

Mulching with compost in orchards improves soil water balance and soil physical

properties, reduces erosion, and allows decreases in inorganic fertilizer rates.

Compost applied both in corrective dressing (before planting) and in planting

holes can reduce fruit tree replant problems associated with monocultural succession

cropping, and thus can serve as an alternative to fruit crop rotation.

Compost has been used as an alternative and/or complement to traditional cow

manure application in fruit production systems. Numerous trials have shown the

potential advantages following application of compost as a soil organic amendment

(Table 8.11). However, some precautions are necessary when compost is utilized in

fruit production systems. Key factors to be considered are compost compatibility

with plants (phytotoxicity) and effects on soil fertility. Compost should be free of

© 2001 by CRC Press LLC



Table 8.11



Potential Benefits of Compost Utilization in Fruit Production Systems



Soil Conditions



Compost

Benefitsz



Organic matter



+



Structural stability of the

aggregates

Porosity, aeration and

drainage

Compaction by orchard

machinery

Infiltration and permeability

Erosion and runoff

Water retention and available

water to fruit crop plants

Water losses by surface

water evaporation

Fluctuation in soil

temperature

Effectiveness of inorganic

fertilizers and irrigation

water

Bioavailabilty of nutrients



+



Eutrophication and nutrients

losses

Biological and enzymatic

activities

Suppression of soilborne

plant pathogens

Number of herbicide

applications

z



Fruit Crop Plant Growth



Compost

Benefitsz



–



Development of young plants in the

establishment years

Root growth near the soil surface and

root exploration of the topsoil

Irrigation requirements during

production

Plant nutritional status



+



+

–

+



Vegetative production balance

Product quantity

Product quality



=

=

=



–



Fruit tree replant problems



–



–



Nutritional deficiencies



–



+



Physiological disorders



–



+



Number of young fruit crop plants

replaced during orchard

establishment



–



+



+

+

–



–

+

+

–



+ increase/improvement, – reduction, = maintenance.



pathogens, viable weed seeds, phytotoxins, and foul odors. There should be minimal

amounts of glass and plastic, and heavy metal concentrations should be below

government limits. The compost should have a particle size adequate for the desired

use; be stable and mature; and have a balanced percentage of nutrients. Stabilization

of compost plays a critical role because it increases humus and mineral concentration

and improves compatibility with the root system of the fruit crop.

The potential for using compost for the applications discussed in this chapter is

promising. The utilization of compost can be promoted via adequate marketing

strategies based on quality control measures to assure the compost product quality

(label of compost facility; ecological label of the European Community — Ecolabel;

international norms as UNI EN ISO 9002). Economic aspects are important, especially because compost rates in fruit production systems are somewhat elevated (at

least 40 to 50 t·ha–1). On the one hand, neither compost pelletization nor compost

packaging may be justifiable (the benefits may not be worth the additional costs).

On the other hand, government subsidies and cost sharing programs could help to

defray purchase, transportation, and application costs. The objective of institutional



© 2001 by CRC Press LLC



subsidies is to promote on-farm use of compost as a conservation practice of sustainable agriculture. Encouraging farmers to properly use compost can reduce erosion, preserve soil fertility, and improve water quality. Compost is a renewable

organic matter resource. In the near future, local availability of compost will increase

due to a proliferation of compost production facilities.



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CHAPTER



9



Compost Utilization in Sod

Production and Turf Management

Allen V. Barker



CONTENTS

I.

II.



Introduction

Utilization of Organic Byproducts and Residues

A. Field-Production Systems

1. Use of Uncomposted Byproducts and Residues

2. Use of Composted Byproducts and Residues

a. Destruction of Organic Contaminants

b. Enhancement of Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition

c. Preparation of Seedbeds for Turf or Sod Production

d. Other Considerations in Use of Composts on Turfgrass

B. Production of Sods in Composts on Impermeable Surfaces

III.

Summary

References



I. INTRODUCTION

High costs of disposal of unutilized or unrecycled byproducts and residues

generated by municipalities, industries, and agriculture are causing people to consider alternatives to disposal (Rosen et al., 1993). Composting is an alternative that

could save money in handling, reduce the volumes and masses of wastes, and convert

organic byproducts and residues into products with high potential for use in horticultural and agronomic industries (Hyatt, 1995; Stratton et al., 1995; Stratton and

Rechcigl, 1997). Furthermore, some materials, such as yard trimmings, are banned



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for landfill deposition in many states, and composting may arise as the principal

means of handling these restricted materials (Steuteville, 1995a, 1995b).

Research and practice have demonstrated that a wide variety of crops can be

grown in media or with land-applied soil amendments developed from composts or

from uncomposted byproducts and residues (Bolton, 1975; Bryan and Lance, 1991;

Buchanan and Gliessman, 1991; Coosemans and van Asshe, 1983; Gouin, 1993;

Hartz et al., 1996; Joiner and Conover, 1965; Ozores-Hampton et al., 1994; Purman

and Gouin, 1992). Often modifications of cultural conditions are necessary to allow

for changes in nutrients, pH, soluble salts, porosity, water-holding capacity, and

cation exchange capacity imparted by additions of composted or raw byproducts or

residues to media or to soils, but generally organic amendments improve media and

soils with respect to physical and chemical properties. Composting improves suitability of raw byproducts and residues in agricultural applications by narrowing the

carbon:nitrogen ratios (C:N ratios), stabilizing the form of N, decomposing potentially toxic organic residues, lowering pH of alkaline feedstock, reducing and suppressing pathogens, lessening odors, reducing metal availability, and producing other

ameliorating effects such as giving a granular material for easy handling (Angle et

al., 1981; Hoitink et al., 1997; Lemmon and Pylypiw, 1992; Muller and Korte, 1975;

Parr and Hornick, 1992; Racke and Frink, 1989; Sikora, 1998; Vandervoort et al.,

1997).

Drawbacks and concerns about agricultural uses of composts relate to the nature

of the feedstocks (raw byproducts and residues) from which composts are made.

They have led to underutilization of composts in horticulture and agronomy (Flanagan et al., 1993; Hauck, 1985). Long-term concerns in utilization of composts,

particularly those made from biosolids, exist due to fears that metals from contaminated feedstocks may enter the food chain or be phytotoxic to crops (Bolton, 1975;

Chaney, 1973; Chaney and Ryan, 1993). Opinions as to the safety of use of metalcontaminated biosolids have evolved after additional research. The current view is

that composted or uncomposted biosolids are safe for land application (Chaney,

1973; Chaney, 1990a, 1990b; Chaney and Ryan, 1993), although the controversy

continues (McBride, 1995).

Among other concerns about composts are perceptions that pesticides and other

organic contaminants added with residues may persist during composting and be

retained in the finished product (Muller and Korte, 1975; Racke and Frink, 1989).

Much evidence suggests that pesticide residues and many organic contaminants are

destroyed during composting (Chaney et al., 1996; Sikora, 1998; Vogtmann and

Fricke, 1992). Salinity imparted by the feedstocks or developed during composting

is also a major concern with some composts (Gouin, 1993). In turf and sod production, problems with general and specific ion salinity often are solved with management of compost applications (Cisar, 1994; Landshoot, 1995; O’Brien and Barker,

1995a, 1996b).

Compost has many applications in turfgrass management and production in the

field, or in container-like conditions of sod production in layers of compost on plastic

or on other impermeable flat surfaces (Cisar, 1994; Cisar and Snyder, 1992; Landshoot, 1995; Logsdon, 1991; Neel et al., 1978). Wildflower sods may be produced

in compost-based sods for transplanting to landscapes or grown in compost laid on

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land for establishment of meadows (Mitchell et al., 1994; O’Brien and Barker, 1995a,

1995b, 1997; Pill et al., 1994). This chapter reviews uses of composts in management

of turfgrass production in several arenas and also addresses production of sods and

meadows of wildflowers, which may be grown in systems similar to those used for

turfgrass management.



II. UTILIZATION OF ORGANIC BYPRODUCTS AND RESIDUES

A. Field-Production Systems

1. Uses of Uncomposted Byproducts and Residues

Processed organic byproducts and residues, such as biosolids, fermentation

byproducts, and other organic residues, account for less than 1% of the total N

fertilizers used in the U.S., although these materials represent large tonnages of

potential, slow-release fertilizers (Hauck, 1985). Much of the early research in land

applications of byproducts and residues was conducted with organic materials that

were not composted prior to land application.

Successful land remediation and turf production with various land-applied biosolids has been well demonstrated (Amundson and Jarrell, 1983; Clapp et al., 1994;

Feagley et al.,1994; Hue, 1995). The successful uses of biosolids amendments to

land are based on improved soil physical and chemical properties, which impart

favorable growing conditions for crops (Avnimelech et al., 1992; Epstein et al., 1976;

Feagley et al., 1994; Giusquiani et al., 1995; Kirkham, 1974; Pagliai et al., 1981).

Metals and soluble salts, including ammonium (NH4) salts, are often-cited problems

associated with uses of biosolids and have limited their widespread acceptance as

soil amendments (Bolton, 1975; Coosemans and van Asshe, 1983; O’Brien and

Barker, 1996a, 1996b; Sanders et al., 1986).

Uncomposted food and yard-waste portions (called heavy fractions, after removal

of metals and most of the plastic and paper) of municipal solid waste (MSW) were

evaluated for sod production (Flanagan et al., 1993). Soil incorporation of the heavy

fractions resulted in greater air, water, and total porosity and lesser bulk density of

a loamy sand relative to conditions in the unamended soil. Kentucky bluegrass (Poa

pratensis L.) sod strength, at about 270 days after amendment, was increased relative

to strength of sod produced in unamended soil. No inhibition of root growth by the

heavy fraction was noted, and the plant density of bluegrass and bermudagrass

(Cynodon dactylon Pers.) sods was increased by the amendment. Soil amendment

with the heavy fraction increased post-transplanting rooting of sods of bermudagrass.

A shorter production time for sods in amended soils relative to that in unamended

soils was suggested. The benefits of incorporation of the MSW were increased soil

fertility with respect to available N, phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca),

and zinc (Zn) and increases in soil organic matter. The benefits lasted for 2 years.

N derived from mineralization of fermentation byproducts from industrial production of antibiotics and organic acids was sufficient to produce high quality

stands of mixed turfgrasses for 2 or 3 years following land applications without

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