Abstract
Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers) turf is the most widely used turfgrass in urban landscapes. Large amounts of fertilizer are usually applied for maximum turf performance, while relatively little attention has been paid to efficient nutrient management of bermudagrass turf. The design opted for was a 3-factor and 5-level Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD) consisting of 24 experimental runs in the greenhouse with response surface methodology (RSM) and simulated regression modeling. The experiment covered in this study was carried out at Sichuan Agricultural University with the objectives of understanding the interactive effects of nitrogen, (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilization on the bermudagrass integrated turf performance (ITP) and optimizing the amount of N, P, and K required for optimum turf performance during establishment. The qualitative and quantitative relationships between bermudagrass and fertilization significantly affected the ITP. The N, P, and K Fertilization significantly influenced the percent grass cover, turf height, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, and total chlorophyll content. Fertilization with N and P significantly enhanced the tiller length, turf density, color, and total protein levels. Root length was augmented with the application of P and K. We found that 3-D surface plots indicated significant interactive effects of NP, NK, and PK on the ITP. A simulation optimization and frequency analysis indicated that the optimal combined amounts of these nutrients were N: 26.0–27.6 g m−2, P: 24.2–26.4 g m−2, and K: 3.1–5.0 g m−2 during the establishment phase. The results suggest that optimized fertilization is key to sustainable nutrient management of bermudagrass integrated turf performance.
Highlights
Urban agriculture can be described as “an industry within or around a city, town or metropolis, that processes, grows/raises, or distributes a variety of food and non-food products, largelyusing material and human resources, services and products in that area, and in turn providing human and material resources, products and services to that area” [1,2]
The worst integrated turf performance (ITP) value (0.31) was observed in the low (N) and medium (P, K) (T9) conditions followed by an ITP of 0.33 in the medium low (NPK) condition (T8). These results demonstrate that the fertilizer containing N considerably influence bermudagrass turf performance
One of the aims of our study was to optimize the amounts of N, P, and K required for maximum bermudagrass turf performance during the establishment phase
Summary
Urban agriculture can be described as “an industry within or around a city, town or metropolis, that processes, grows/raises, or distributes a variety of food and non-food products, largely (re-)using material and human resources, services and products in that area, and in turn providing human and material resources, products and services to that area” [1,2]. Urban agriculture provides food security and offers social value, aesthetics, and environmental benefits [3,4]. Urban green spaces (public parks, community gardens, walking trails, golf courses, and other open spaces for recreation) have increased globally during the last decade. Turfgrass is an inevitable part of urban agriculture and landscapes because turfgrass plays a pivotal role in the beautification of lawns, gardens, parks, golf courses, and playing surfaces, and provides recreation. Turfgrass contributes substantially to the well-being of urban dwellers [5,6]. Turfgrass has several other ecological benefits, such as regulating microclimates, air cleansing, and carbon sequestration [5,7]
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