‘Georgia-5’ Tall Fescue Establishment Responses to Amendment of Louisiana Coastal Plain Soils
2000
Pitman, W. D.
Release of `Georgia-5' tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) expanded the range of this species into the Coastal Plain of the southeastern USA. Initial plantings indicated that responses to lime and P may be greater on infertile, acid Coastal Plain soils than reported within the primary area of adaptation. Three field experiments and a greenhouse experiment were conducted on Louisiana Coastal Plain soils. In the field, all combinations of 50 kg P ha⁻¹, 90 kg K ha⁻¹, and 4.0 Mg lime ha⁻¹ were applied. In one experiment, all treatments which included P increased establishment-year forage yield, with an increase from 310 kg ha⁻¹ for the control to 1500 kg ha⁻¹ with P alone. Plant responses to lime were obtained at this site in the second year. In the other experiments, drought apparently precluded responses at one site, while plant stands improved with lime at the other site. Linear plant responses to P up to 80 kg ha⁻¹ (soil P of 142 mg kg⁻¹) and a quadratic response to lime were obtained in the greenhouse. These results illustrate variation in responses to be expected with fertility, rainfall, and other growing conditions, but still indicate the importance of P and lime to Georgia-5 tall fescue seedlings on acid, infertile Coastal Plain soils. Responses in stand establishment are suggested to soil levels of P and Ca or pH beyond those typically recommended for other regions.
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