Calcium in Soil Cancel The title field is required!

1. Ryan Leach

   

   6 posts
   
   3/21/2019 5:03 AM

   Good morning,
   I am located in Midwest Ohio on Penncross/007/Poa, USGA sand based greens.
   I tested the soil 1.5 years ago it was a lab that is no longer doing testing but was bought by the lab my current tests are run in. I received our soil tests back and the calcium levels are through the roof! Last time we did the tests they were in the 3000ish lbs/ac available with a CEC of 10-11.
   Now they are 11,000ish lbs/ac available with a CEC of 16ish. I called the lab and they say that the calcium is certainly in surplus but it's not too hateful. The chem rep thinks they are not too bad either.
   I urged the fact that when the calcium is at 93% base saturation, that is a huge problem. The available K is low and I suspect because the available K is only at 0.5% base saturation, it has no place to stick to the soil because the Ca is taking up so much real estate.
   I do not apply lime, gypsum or any heavy calcium products. This section of Ohio is on limestone bedrock and boasts we have some the best lime in the country.
   Is there any thoughts on this or am I just making a mountain out of a mole hill?

   
   
   
   
2. Ronald Conard

   

   4 posts
   
   3/21/2019 8:03 AM

   Ryan,
   
   Are you getting these values from your greens or are these tests from fairways? If the tests are from your native soil areas then I wouldn't worry too much about it. You can address the other base cations if you think it's necessary. If your fairways are performing fine and have the color you like then that's the evidence you need that it's not a big worry. If your pH values are high you can also address that through the application of nutrients that are tied up (i.e. Fe, Mn) coupled with ammonium sulfate apps. You just have to be careful as too high of a rate or the wrong timing can burn and track. Basically what you are doing is addressing the pH issue, temporarily, at the microsite which will free up any tied up nutrients. The greening effect is pretty impressive if that's what you are looking for. But go slow to find a rate you can live with.
   
   If the elevated Ca values are coming from your greens then I might be more concerned about either the construction sand source and/or the topdressing sand source. Is it possible that the sand is a limestone sand and not a silica sand? If it's limestone then your going to have to do some research on how to handle it because these sands breakdown over time plugging up your drainage which is much worse than any fertility issues you might be dealing with. If the sand is a silica sand and you still have elevated calcium levels then I'd go back to what I said in the first paragraph. Any imbalance of a base saturation can be address if it's even a problem.

   
   
   
   
3. Ryan Leach

   

   6 posts
   
   3/21/2019 8:03 AM

   Ronald,
   Thanks for the response. It is on our greens. We use a silica topdressing sand.
   I was told that adding more K and MG would help but I don't buy it. The bond of Ca is stronger than both K and Mg. I understand they are trying to "mass flow" it out of there but not many cations are going to fall off if the bond of what I am flushing with is weaker than the bond of the Ca. I was also told to use some sulfur to knock some off and in turn bring the down a few tenths.

   
   
   
   
4. Ronald Conard

   

   4 posts
   
   3/21/2019 9:03 AM

   Ryan,
   
   Interesting. Is the original mix silica too? If it is then you can work around the elevated levels by, not necessarily trying to balance the base saturation, but by applying whatever might be deficient in the plant through either foliar apps or light, frequent granular apps. Personally, other than that I wouldn't worry about. How are your greens performing?

   
   
   
   
5. Ryan Leach

   

   6 posts
   
   3/21/2019 10:03 AM

   I do not know what the original mix is. It was done in 1996 and I cannot find any records of the renovation. The greens struggled last year. Thinned out and struggled to maintain vigor. I have a feeling the K and low P is the culprit.

   
   
   
   
6. Ronald Conard

   

   4 posts
   
   3/21/2019 10:03 AM

   Ryan M Leach said: I do not know what the original mix is. It was done in 1996 and I cannot find any records of the renovation. The greens struggled last year. Thinned out and struggled to maintain vigor. I have a feeling the K and low P is the culprit.

   
   
   Ryan,
   
   I just really wonder if the greens were built with a limestone sand and now they're starting to fail. First step for me would be to get that answer because the elevated Ca has to becoming from somewhere. In addition to adding K and P, I'd start doing some infiltration testing, run some nematode assays, tissue tests, etc and figure out exactly what is going on. It could very well be low P and K but I'd want to eliminate any other potential additional causes since the greens were in decline last year. I'd hate to do the right thing and address the low P and K but then it winds up being something in addition. I just don't know of anyway to knock the calcium out of your greens especially if they were built from limestone sand. Acid forming applications just may exasperate the problem by accelerating the weathering of the limestone.
   
   Good luck. Sounds like your on the right path to figure out the issues.

   
   
   
   
7. Ronald Conard

   

   4 posts
   
   3/21/2019 10:03 AM

   Ryan,
   
   I'm not sure if you've come across this or not. I didn't read through it but it talks about K availability in calcium based sand greens.
   
   https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239927881_Potassium_Availability_Indices_and_Turfgrass_Performance_in_a_Calcareous_Sand_Putting_Green
   
   I wonder if getting a hold of Dr. Rossi or Dr. Woods might be beneficial. They both seem really helpful for us turfheads.

   
   
   
   
8. Michael Hummel

   

   0 posts
   
   4/1/2019 4:04 PM

   Ryan:
   
   One of the ways you can find out if your greens are built out of calcareous sands is to take a soil probe and get down into the native material.. Find an acid such as muriatic.. If the sand is calcareous the acid will dissolve the sand, if it is silica it would do a thing. A hardness test from a lab would also lead to a conclusion.
   
   I have seen similar tests with high CA overseas.