Enhancing Phosphorus Phytoremedation Potential of Two Warm-Season Perennial Grasses with Nitrogen Fertilization

• Published in: Agronomy journal Vol. 101; no. 6; pp. 1345 - 1351
• Main Authors: Newman, Y.C, Agyin-Birikorang, S, Adjei, M.B, Scholberg, J.M, Silveira, M.L, Vendramini, J.M.B, Rechcigl, J.E, Sollenberger, L.E, Chrysostome, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Madison American Society of Agronomy 01.11.2009
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; crop yield; dry matter accumulation; fertilizer rates; forage crops; forage grasses; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; Hemarthria altissima; leaching; nitrogen; Nitrogen fertilization; nitrogen fertilizers; Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium fertilizations; nutrient uptake; Paspalum notatum; phosphorus; phytoremediation; plant nutrition; soil fertility; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; USA, Florida, Pensacola; Non metal; Group VA element; Nitrogen fertilization; Monocotyledones; Vegetals; Gramineae; Agronomy; Angiospermae; Perennial plant; Phosphorus; C4-Type; Spermatophyta
• ISSN: 0002-1962; 1435-0645
• DOI: 10.2134/agronj2009.0163

Phytoremediation or use of plants to extract soil nutrients is a practice used to ameliorate the impacts of excessive soil nutrients. Pensacola bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum Flügge) and ‘Floralta’ limpograss [Hemarthria altissima (Poir.) Stapf & Hubb] were grown in a P-impacted Immokalee fine sand (Mehlich-1 P 30 mg P kg–1) to evaluate increasing N levels on dry matter yield (DMY), forage P concentration, P removal, and P dynamics in the soil profile. Treatments were four levels of N fertilization (0, 50, 67, and 101 kg N ha–1 harvest–1) replicated four times for each species. Both grasses showed increases in P removal with increasing N fertilizer applications. Phosphorus removed by forages for the highest N application level ranged from 59 (bahiagrass; 2-yr period) to 83 kg ha–1 (limpograss; 3-yr period). The initial soil P content of the Ap horizon of all N > 0 treatments decreased by >or= 85% over the study period. However, more P from the control (N = 0) plots leached to subsurface horizons compared to P lost from the plots receiving N fertilizer. Nitrogen application enhanced P uptake from the soil and consequently reduced off-site P losses from the surface soil. Nitrogen application of 67 kg ha–1 harvest–1 optimized P removal by bahiagrass and limpograss. These data show that well managed, warm-season perennial forage grasses with adequate N fertilization and managed for hay production or greenchop are an option for reducing off-site P losses from P-impacted soils.