Soil Nutrient and Fescue (Festuca spp.) Responses To Compost and Hydroseed on a Disturbed Roadside

Inadequate nutrients and poor soil quality pose challenges for turfgrass establishment on disturbed soils. Compost amendment has been shown to mitigate poor soil quality. This research was conducted to compare surface applications of compost to standard hydroseeding for improving soil chemical properties and turfgrass establishment. Plots established with either hydroseed or compost in spring 2007 were evaluated for soil pH, Mehlich-I extractable K, Mg, Zn, P, total N, organic C, and percent ground cover, fescue coverage and biomass production of tall (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and chewing's fescue Festuca rubra L. ssp. fallax (Thuill.) Nyman]. Two years after plot establishment, the compost treatment had significantly increased Mehlich-I extractable soil P, K and Zn. Phosphorus increased 566% in the compost soil but only 17% in the hydroseeded soil. Higher percentages of ground coverage were reported in the compost than the hydroseed treatments with coverage in treatments declining from 2008 to 2009. Although the surface additions of compost initially enhanced the establishment and growth of fescue, vegetation may be limited in the long run by soil conditions in the root zone and competing broadleaf weeds.