Study 2 & 3: Use of dairy manure compost on coastal bermudagrass
Contact Information
Dr. Jim Muir
jmuir@ag.tamu.edu
(254) 968-4144
Objective 2
Evaluate various compost rates on establishment and growth of coastal bermudagrass.
Objective 3
Evaluate various application methods and timings of compost on coastal bermudagrass.
Treatment 2
| Treatment Number | Treatments | Year 1 Harvest | Year 2 Harvest | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 1 | Manure (32 tons/A) | X | |||||
| 2 | Manure (32 tons/A) | X | N | N | N | N | N |
| 3 | Manure (32 tons/A) | XN1 | N1 | N1 | N1 | N1 | N1 |
| 4 | Manure (32 tons/A) | X | N2 | N2 | N2 | N2 | N2 |
| 5 | Manure (32 tons/A) | X | NP | N | NP | N | N |
| 6 | Manure (32 tons/A) | X | NK | NK | NK | NK | NK |
| 7 | Compost (16 tons/A) | X | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 8 | Compost (16 tons/A) | X | N | N | N | N | N |
| 9 | Compost (16 tons/A) | XN1 | N1 | N1 | N1 | N1 | N1 |
| 10 | Compost (16 tons/A) | X | N2 | N2 | N2 | N2 | N2 |
| 11 | Compost (16 tons/A) | X | NP | N | NP | N | N |
| 12 | Compost (16 tons/A) | X | NK | NK | NK | NK | NK |
| 13 | Compost (32 tons/A) | X | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 14 | Compost (32 tons/A) | X | N | N | N | N | N |
| 15 | Compost (32 tons/A) | XN1 | N1 | N1 | N1 | N1 | N1 |
| 16 | Compost (32 tons/A) | X | N2 | N2 | N2 | N2 | N2 |
| 17 | Compost (32 tons/A) | X | NP | N | NP | N | N |
| 18 | Compost (32 tons/A) | X | NK | NK | NK | NK | NK |
| 19 | Compost (8 tons/A) | XN1 | N1 | N1 | XN1 | N1 | N1 |
| 20 | Compost (8 tons/A) | X | N | N | XN | N | N |
| 21 | Untreated check | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 22 | Commercial Fertilizer (100-100-150) | X | XF1 | XF1 | XF2 | XF1 | XF1 |
| X = Treatment applied | P = P2O5 (100 lbs/A) |
| N = Nitrogen (100 lbs/A) | K = K2O (100 lbs/A) |
| N1 = Nitrogen (50 lbs/A) | F1 = Commercial Fertilizer at 100-0-100 |
| N2 = Nitrogen (75 lbs/A) | F2 = Commercial Fertilizer at 100-100-100 |
Treatment 3
| Treatment Number | Application Timing | Compost Rate (ton/A) | Rate of Fertilizer per cutting (lb/A) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nov 15 | 8 | 0-0-0 |
| 2 | Nov 15 | 8 | 100-0-0 |
| 3 | Nov 15 | 16 | 0-0-0 |
| 4 | Nov 15 | 16 | 100-0-0 |
| 5 | Nov 15 | 32 | 0-0-0 |
| 6 | Nov 15 | 32 | 100-0-0 |
| 7 | Jan 20 | 8 | 0-0-0 |
| 8 | Jan 20 | 8 | 50-0-0 |
| 9 | Jan 20 | 8 | 100-0-0 |
| 10 | Jan 20 | 16 | 0-0-0 |
| 11 | Jan 20 | 16 | 50-0-0 |
| 12 | Jan 20 | 16 | 100-0-0 |
| 13 | Jan 20 | 32 | 0-0-0 |
| 14 | Jan 20 | 32 | 50-0-0 |
| 15 | Jan 20 | 32 | 100-0-0 |
| 16 | Mar 10 | 8 | 0-0-0 |
| 17 | Mar 10 | 8 | 50-0-0 |
| 18 | Mar 10 | 8 | 100-0-0 |
| 19 | Mar 10 | 16 | 0-0-0 |
| 20 | Mar 10 | 16 | 50-0-0 |
| 21 | Mar 10 | 16 | 100-0-0 |
| 22 | Mar 10 | 32 | 0-0-0 |
| 23 | Mar 10 | 32 | 50-0-0 |
| 24 | Mar 10 | 32 | 100-0-0 |
| 25 | Untreated check | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| 26 | Control | 0 | 100-0-0 |
| 27 | Control | 0 | 100-100-150 |
Procedure 2 & 3
Soils will be sampled from test plots in Stephenville prior to treatment. Dairy compost and raw manure will be applied at various rates and Coastal bermudagrass will be planted at typical seeding rates. Plots will be harvested monthly with an ALMACO forage harvester and samples will be taken from each plot. Supplemental rates of synthetic fertilizer per treatment will be added following each harvest.
Results 2
View the poster presented at the 2005 American Society of Agronomy Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah on November 6-10, 2005.
Photo documentation of plots can be seen below.
 Stephenville Plot Overview #1 |
 Stephenville Plot Overview #2 |
 Treatment 22 versus Treatment 11 |
 Treatment 18 versus Treatment 7 |
 Treatment 16 versus Treatment 19 |
 Treatment 13 versus Treatment 21 |
 Treatment 17 versus Treatment 22 |
 Treatment 12 versus Treatment 16 |
 Treatment 19 versus Treatment 12 |
This study was conducted as part of a Master's thesis research project.