Comanche County Demonstration
Contact Information:
Mr. Robert Whitney
comanche-tx@tamu.edu
(325) 356-2539
Location: Comanche post office lawn, West Oak Avenue, Comanche, Texas
Composter: Organic Residual Reclamation
Plot map: 20' by 9' plots with 3' alleys
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | 2 | 1 |
Treatments:
- Untreated (Inorganic fertilizer)
- Compost @ 20 tons per acre applied once plus Inorganic Nitrogen @ 20 lb N per acre applied 4 times
- Compost @ 20 tons per acre applied twice plus Inorganic Nitrogen @ 20 lb N per acre applied 4 times
Procedure:
Nine plots were established on a city post office lawn in Comanche, Texas. The three treatments were replicated three times and randomly assigned to the nine plots. Compost applications were applied on March 30 and inorganic nitrogen treatments were applied on April 21, July 15, and September 15.
Treatment 1 received applications of inorganic fertilizer. Compost at a rate of 20 tons per acre was applied once to treatment 2 and followed with timely applications of inorganic nitrogen at a rate of 20 lbs N per acre. Treatment 3 received two applications of compost at a rate of 20 tons per acre followed with timely applications of inorganic nitrogen at a rate of 20 lbs N per acre.
Results:
Few visual differences were noted throughout the growing season. The high amount of natural nutrients in the plot area potentially created a situation in which all the plots have done equally well.
The only noticeable difference was the St. Augustine grass in treatment 2, replication 2, has now grown into all surrounding plots. This is potentially due to high rainfall received this year that favored the St. Augustine over Bermudagrass. Further, the St. Augustine plot was more dense than any other plot. All other plots except for the St. Augustine were somewhat thin and yellow, potentially due to an iron deficiency caused by excess phosphorus.
A new location will be sought out next year for plot demonstrations due to the high soil test nutrients at this location.
Soil Analysis:
| N | P | K | Ca | Mg | Na | S | Salinity | OM | pH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ppm | ppm | ppm | ppm | ppm | ppm | ppm | ppm | % | |
| 11 | 107 | 420 | 5676 | 280 | 171 | 23 | 375 | 5.03 | 7.9 |