American Researchers Expound on Soil Water Repellency in Austria
July 21 2005 Golfdom
A group of leading American researchers in soil water repellency presented their research for the first time at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly, held recently in Vienna, Austria, as part of a special 24-paper session on soil water repellency, according to a news release from Paulsboro, N.J.-based Aquatrols.
Solicited oral papers on amelioration strategies for soil water repellency in turfgrass and agronomic systems were presented by Dr. John Cisar, University of Florida; Dr. Mike Fidanza, Pennsylvania State University; Dr. Stan Kostka, Aquatrols; Dr. Bernd Leinauer, New Mexico State University; and Dr. Birl Lowery, University of Wisconsin-Madison. The presentations allowed U.S. turf and soils research related to soil water repellency to be introduced to scientists and individuals from other countries also working on understanding and managing soil water repellency.
John Cisar, Stan Kostka, Bernd Leinauer and C.J. Ritsema submitted papers. (Photo courtesy of Aquatrols)
In addition to the oral presentations, 34 posters were also presented, including four posters related to management of soil water repellency on golf courses.
The session entitled, "Soil Water Repellency: Origins, Environmental Controls and Hydrological Impacts," was one of the largest individual sessions of the entire EGU General Assembly. It was attended by about 8,000 people and covered a diverse range of topics in the geosciences.
The soil water repellency papers and posters from the U.S. scientists addressed the following:
— The effect of soil water repellency on turfgrass water requirements and performance (Cisar)
— Soil hydrophobicity associated with type-I fairy ring in turfgrass (Fidanza)
— Soil water repellency in golf course soils: water use and environmental implications (Kostka)
— Water repellency in sprinkler- and subirrigated turfgrass root zones (Leinauer)
— Use of surfactant to increase water and nitrogen use efficiency in potato production in hydrophobic sandy soil in Wisconsin (Lowery)
— Efficacy of surfactants to aid water penetration into hydrophobic organic layers in turfgrass root zones; New Mexico State University (Barrick)
— Synergistic surfactants to enhance hydrophilicity and infiltration in water repellent soils; Aquatrols (Kostka and Bially)
— Evaluating turfgrass performance after surfactant application in a wettable and a non-wettable soil; Aquatrols (Franklin)
— Managing soil moisture content by systematic injection of wetting agents; CalPoly-Pomona (Mitra)
