Comparison of sludge and fertilizer applications on establishment and growth of seedlings of two sweetgum ecotypes endomycorrhizal with Glomus mosseae and G. etunicatus. Establishment and progress report

Abstract

Half-sib progeny from two sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) mother trees endomycorrhizal with Glomus etunicatus and G. mosseae were grown in the Forest Service's experimental nursery located near Athens, Georgia, and outplanted on SRP, at Aiken, South Carolina, in late February 1978. Sludge and fertilizer treatments were applied to the plots several weeks prior to planting. Nutrient equivalence to the 1/4'' sludge standard was approximated with the addition of diammonium phosphate, ammonium nitrate, and hydrated lime. Two soil moisture lysimeters (one at an effective sampling depth of 38'' and one at 10'') were installed in the middle of each plot after planting of seedlings to follow nutrient cycling on site. Soil moisture will be monitored monthly during the growing season and nitrogen equivalence among the sludge and fertilizer treatments will be maintained by adding ammonium nitrate to half of the fertilizer plots when such adjustments are needed as determined in the laboratory. A first-year progress report will be prepared after field data is collected in December 1978.