Empire Turf ® chemical fertilization grown on three substrates

Abstract

Empire Turf® was the first national cultivar developed, compared to traditional Emerald grass, the Empire is characterized by fast establishment, high erosion control, tolerance to irrigation with non-drinking water, firmer carpets, good drought and salinity tolerance, shading and low demands on soil fertility. However, despite all these desirable characteristics, the development and establishment of the grass will depend on its handling and especially on the substrate in which it is installed. Thus, this study evaluated the development of Empire Turf® conducted on three substrates, with chemical fertilization. The experiment was carried out in containers (volume of 8.5 L) filled with the treatments: T1 - soil; T2 - soil + sand + soil conditioner (1v:1v:1v) and T3 - soil + sand (1v:1v), forming a completely randomized design with three treatments and three repetitions, considering each container as an experimental unit. On March 30, 2019, the first evaluation was carried out, then the treatments received chemical fertilization (NPK+S 13-5-13+14), using 20g of the commercial product diluted in 2L of water, being a single dose per container. After 15 days, in the 2nd evaluation, it was evaluated: foliar chemical analysis, the foliar chlorophyll index (FCI), fresh mass (FM) and dry mass (DM). The results indicated that Empire Turf® presents a rapid response of 15 days, after maintenance fertilization with 10g L-1 of NPK+S (13-5-13+14), having better development when cultivated in soil + sand compound substrate (1v:1v).