ASHS 2024 Conference

Container nursery production is the fastest-growing sector in the nursery industry. High volumes of runoff containing nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from container production result in wasted high-quality fresh water, loss of costly applied fertilizer, and increased risk of nutrient management regulations, especially near receiving waters prone to eutrophication. The authors hypothesize that stratified substrates, in which a fine textured substrate is placed atop a coarse substrate amended with ferrous sulfate (FeSO4), can reduce water use and decrease N and P losses while yielding a high-quality container crop. This research was conducted at the Horticulture Teaching and Research Center in Holt, Michigan on three replicate simulated nursery pads per treatment, each having 45 containers consisting of Buddleja x ‘Miss Violet’, Ilex crenata ‘FARROWSK6’, Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’, Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Seward’, Cornus sericea ‘SMNCSBD’, Cotinus coggygria ‘MINCOJAU3’, Rosa x ‘ChewDelight’. Substrate treatments consisted of an 85:15 (by vol.) pine bark:sphagnum peat uniform profile (Conv), an 85:15 pine bark:sphagnum peat uniform profile fully amended with 3 kg/m3 FeSO4 (Conv Fe), stratified substrate (Strat) in which fine sphagnum peat amended bark substrate was atop a coarse bark substrate, and stratified substrate with the coarse bark layer amended with 3 kg/m3 FeSO4 FeSO4 (Strat Fe). All plants were micro-irrigated with a spray stake. Irrigation water usage, N, and P leaching were quantified and compared. Preliminary results indicate that lower amounts of N leached from Strat (12 mg L-1, p = 0.03) and Strat Fe (13 mg L-1, p = 0.02) compared to Conv (23 mg L-1). Similarly, lower P was found in leachate from Strat (6.33 mg L-1, p = 0.01) and Strat Fe (6.74 mg L-1, p = 0.02) compared to Conv (11.78 mg L-1). These preliminary results, in addition to leaching fraction and growth index, will be discussed in this presentation.