Abstract
Dredged materials are often viewed by society and regulators as pollutants, but many have used these materials in coastal nutrient enhancement, land or wetland creation, construction materials, and for soil improvement as a soil amendment. The objective of this study was to assess lake-dredged materials as a soil amendment for early establishment of bahiagrass (BG, Paspalum notatum Flügge) in subtropical beef cattle pasture. The treatment combinations consisted of five test plots (30.5 m x 30.5 m). Each of the plots had different ratio of lake-dredged materials (LDM) to natural soil (NS): Plot 1 [0% dry matter (DM) + 100% NS]; Plot 2 (25% DM + 75% NS); Plot 3 (50% DM + 50% NS); Plot 4 (75% DM + 25% NS); and Plot 5 (100% DM + 0% NS). Each plot was seeded with BG and growth establishment and yield were monitored for 34 weeks. Results disclosed significantly taller (P ? 0.001) BG and higher biomass production (P ? 0.001) from plots amended with DM than those of BG planted on plots with 0% DM. Results suggest that DM can serve as source of lime and fertilizer to establish BG beef pasture fields in the subtropics.
