Testing the Aqua-PhyD Water Conditioner
Summary: A study was designed to evaluate the water quality claims made for the Aqua-PhyD water conditioner, specifically the company brochure’s claim that "Reclaimed water is perfect for the AQUA-PHYD system. It will significantly reduce the salts and chlorides found in reclaimed, run-off, and recycled water".
Analytical tests were conducted on water before and after passing through the Aqua-PhyD water conditioner that had been installed between the irrigation lake and irrigation heads on a California golf course. The results indicate that the Aqua-PhyD water conditioner did not alter any parameters of irrigation water chemical composition, including salts and chlorides, as evaluated using standard analytical chemical methods.
Aqua-PhyD’s literature also claims beneficial effects on soils as well. The impact of the Aqua-PhyD water conditioner on soil quality was not evaluated in this study.
The full print version of this report (14Kb) is now available on PACE's Super Journal website.
Principal investigators: Larry Stowell, Ph.D., CPAg (PACE Turfgrass Research Institute)
Effect of leaching greens on soil chemistry
A research study on the effects of leaching was recently conducted with the cooperation of superintendent Mike Hathaway, CGCS (a PACE advisory board member) and assistant Nathan Radwick at The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe. The full report has been posted onto the PACE Super Journal website, and the results are summarized below.
Summary: To quantify the benefits as well as any hazards of leaching, soil chemical analyses were performed on G2 bentgrass greens that had been leached by applying 5.5 inches of water over a period of 22 hours. A parallel set of analyses were performed on greens that had not been leached. Significant benefits, as well as some lesser, but potential risks were observed, including:
- Leaching reduced salinity by 37% using saturated paste extraction (SPE) methods or 26% using 1:2 soil to water electrical conductivity evaluations (which were converted to saturated paste equivalents).
- Sodium parts per million was reduced by 30% using SPE and to 33% when evaluated using Mehlich III (M3) extraction.
- Sulfur was reduced by 46% using SPE and by 40% when evaluated using M3 extraction.
- Chloride was reduced by 50% using SPE and by 52% when evaluated using M3 extraction
- Although all of the reductions listed above are beneficial, there was also a significant loss of potassium detected in the leached samples. This indicates that applications of supplemental potassium may be needed following heavy leaching in order to replenish levels to the guideline level of 110 ppm or above (as determined by Mehlich III extraction).
Full print version of report (24Kb)
Principal investigators: Mike Hathaway, CGCS and Nathan Radwick (The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe)
Cooperators: Larry Stowell and Wendy Gelernter (PACE Turfgrass Research Institute)
IPM Template Progress Report II, May 2007
The second progress report on our GCSAA-funded two-year grant, "Producing an IPM template" is now available. Full text of May, 2007 report
