Best Management Practices for Saline and Sodic Turfgrass Soils

 

By R.N. Carrow and R.R. Duncan
CRC Press, 2011

University of Georgia duo Bob Carrow and Ronny Duncan would have to be among the most prolific authors within the international turfgrass management scene over the past decade and they have recently added another title to their ever-growing back catalogue. Hot on the heels of Turfgrass and Landscape Irrigation Water Quality: Assessment and Management, a 2009 collaboration with former superintendent and USGA agronomist Michael Huck, Carrow and Duncan have teamed together to publish Best Management Practices for Saline and Sodic Turfgrass Soils: Assessment and Reclamation.

Using the ‘best management practices (BMPs) concept, their new book examines the complex issues around salinity management, presenting comprehensive scientific principles and detailing practical management and assessment recommendations for turfgrass and landscape sites. Their overriding message is that there is no ‘silver bullet’ amendment, treatment, or grass for salinity management and that only a holistic BMPs approach will be successful and sustainable.

The comprehensive 455-page hard cover book has a number of features, including the following:

• Provides BMPs addressing both proactive site assessment (initial and ongoing monitoring) and specific individual site management programmes that can be implemented for each type of saline and sodic problem affecting turfgrass performance;
• Identifies all possible BMP strategies including: irrigation system design; irrigation scheduling and salinity leaching; chemical, physical, and biological amendments; cultivation; topdressing;  soil modification; sand-capping; surface and subsurface drainage options; nutritional practices; additional cultural practices (PGRs, biotic and abiotic stresses, traffic stresses); and on-going monitoring;
• Includes the role and use of field and laboratory analytical methods for site assessment approaches for both plant performance and whole ecosystem assessment in relation to environmental issues such as soil quality/sustainability, salt disposal, and potential to affect surface and ground waters;
• Since plant and soil nutrient and element deficiencies, imbalances and toxicities are an integral part of salinity stresses, this book contains the most detailed information available to turfgrass managers specific to turfgrass soil testing (routine and salt package tests), water quality, and plant analyses  as well as report interpretation of each of these potential management tools.
• Presents emerging challenges, technology and concepts including: integration of salinity management into comprehensive site environmental or sustainable management systems; use of halophytic turfgrasses for non-traditional purposes (land reclamation, saline forages, drainage-water reuse schemes); integration of geospatial and geostatistical concepts and technology; and integration of new sensor technology into daily management paradigms.

The book is broken up into five sections. Section one looks at the characteristics of salt-affected sites, saline soils and sodic, saline-sodic and alkaline soils. The next section, titled ‘Site assessment BMPs for saline and sodic soil sites’, looks at salinity soil tests and interpretation; routine soil test methods; irrigation water quality tests, interpretation and selection; plant analysis; and assessment for salt movement, additions and retention.

Section three outlines management BMPs for saline and sodic soil sites and includes chapters on turfgrass and landscape plant selection; irrigation system design and maintenance for poor-quality water; irrigation scheduling and salinity leaching; remediation approaches and amendments; amendment application options and guidelines; cultivation, topdressing and soil modification; drainage and sand capping; and nutritional practices on saline and sodic sites.  Section four focuses on environmental stewardship and sustainability issues, while the final section looks at non-traditional use of turfgrasses on salt-affected sites. 

Best Management Practices for Saline and Sodic Turfgrass Soils: Assessment and Reclamation is now available through the AGCSA Bookshop and AGCSA members can purchase a copy for $121 (non-members $145).