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Title: EFFECT OF NEUTRALIZING ALKALINITY WITH ACID ON NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND GROWTH OF THRYALLIS (GALPHIMIA GLAUCA CAV.)

Author
item Albano, Joseph
item WILSON, P. CHRIS - UF-IFAS-IRREC
item WILSON, SANDRA - UF-IFAS-IRREC

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2004
Publication Date: 7/1/2004
Citation: Albano,J.P.,Wilson,P.C.,Wilson,S.B. 2004.Effects of neutralizing irrigation water alkalinity with acid on nurtritional status and growth of thryallis (Galphimia glauca Cav.)[abstract]. HortScience. 39(4):777.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Sources of irrigation water in South Florida typically contain high levels of dissolved carbonates and bicarbonates. Repeated application of high alkalinity water can cause substrate-solution pH to rise, thereby altering nutrient availability, and possibly leading to the development of nutrient disorders and a reduction in plant growth. The objectives of the current study were to determine the effects of neutralizing alkalinity of irrigation water on the nutritional status and growth of Thryallis (Galphimia glauca Cav.). Plants were grown in 11.4-liter containers in a 5:4:1 peat:pine bark:sand (volume basis) mix. Treatments were prepared with water collected from a commercial nursery with inherent calcium carbonate levels in excess of 260 milligrams per liter and pH above 7.3. Treatments consisted of 0 percent (control), 40 percent, or 80 percent alkalinity neutralized with sulfuric acid. At harvest, 52 weeks after initiating treatments, foliar levels of iron were 28 percent greater, manganese 55 percent greater, and zinc 27 percent greater in the 80 percent than 0 percent neutralized alkalinity treatment. Growth indices and leaf greenness averaged over the course of the study were significantly greater in the 40 percent than in the 0 percent or 80 percent alkalinity neutralized treatments. Over the course of the study, leachate pH averaged 7.5, 6.8, and 5.3; and electrical conductivity (EC) averaged 1.4, 1.9, and 2.2 desisiemens per centimeter in the 0 percent, 40 percent, and 80 percent alkalinity neutralized treatments, respectively.