The objective of two experiments in column lysimeters was to evaluate the fate of applied P and N among contrasting establishment treatments in sand, loam, and clay soils. Treatments in Experiment 1 comprised sod transplanted from turf grown with fertilizer or composted dairy manure (CDM) and CDM topdressed or incorporated at a P-based rate (200 kg P/ha) before sprigging. Experiment 2 was composed of a control and two volume-based rates (150 and 250 mL/L) of CDM or composted municipal biosolids (CMB) incorporated before sprigging in the three soil types. In Experiment 1, recovery of nutrients imported as CDM and soil was small in clippings and leachate and similar among transplanted sod and sprigged treatments. The comparison among soils indicated mean nitrate-N concentration (7.1 mg/L) and loss (6.1 mg/column) in leachate from sand were greater than from loam and clay soils during early establishment. In Experiment 2, incorporation of CDM or CMB in the diverse soil types increased concentrations of nitrate-N, soil-test P (STP), and water-extractable P within the amended soil layer (0 to 10 cm) during early turf establishment. In addition, STP concentration at depths to 40 cm below the surface of sand amended with the two CDM or CMB rates were greater than the control after three pore volumes of distilled water were applied. The increases of STP were associated with greater concentrations and losses of dissolved P in leachate from CDM- and CMB-amended sand than from the control. Leaching loss of dissolved P was similar among treatments applied to loam and clay soils. In conclusion, leaching loss of dissolved P during turfgrass establishment occurred only when one or more pore volumes of water were applied after a sandy soil was amended with large, volume-based rates of CDM or CMB in Experiment 2.
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