Effect of Silicate Fertilizer Application on Zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud.) Field

Abstract

This study was conducted to find out the optimum silicate fertilization for improving the quality and density of zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud.), the growth of zoysiagrass and changes in chemical properties of soil in field experiments treated with different levels of silicate fertilizer during 3 years from 2012 to 2014. An increase in the silicate fertilizer from 100, 200, to 400 kg 10a led to a significant increase in the fresh and dry weight of shoots and stolons, the number of shoots and length of stolon, but were not significantly different between 200 and 400 kg 10a. Moreover, soil pH, EC and the contents of available SiO2 were increased as the rate of silicate fertilizer application increased. Thus, these results demonstrated that the silicate fertilizer rate for maximum growth of zoysiagrass was 200 kg 10a in consideration of improving growth of zoysiagrass and the chemical property of the soil.