Abstract
The objectives of this research were to investigate the effect of serpentine as a new soil conditioner for growth of turfgrass. To achieve the goal, pure sand or mixtures of sand and serpentine with various ratios were tested for soil physical properties and the growth effects of perennial ryegrass and zoysiagrass growth were compared. Major results of this research are summarized as follows; 1) Hydraulic conductivity of 10~30% serpentine mixtures were observed within the range of 1010~901mm/h which is good for USGA recommendation. Experimental results of pH and EC for various mixtures indicated that the 10% serpentine mixture was the most suitable for turfgrass growth. 2) Perennial ryegass treated with 10% serpentine mixture showed the highest visual quality(p<0.01) among all treatments. And serpentine treatment was more effective to improve visual quality of perennial ryegrass than that of zoysiagrass. The treatment of 10% serpentine had better visual qualities than that of 20% in both of zoysiagrass and perennial ryegrass. Treatment with the right amount of serpentine extends green period for one to two weeks during early winter in both zoysiagrass and perennial ryegrass. 3) In perennial ryegrass, the treatment of 10% serpentine resulted in an increase of total dry weight compare with those of zeolite or barley stone, and also dramatically promoted the dry weight by 15% compared with sand 100%(control). Total dry weight of zoysiagrass treated with 10% serpentine was 9％ higher than that of san. These results indicated that serpentine can be a good soil conditioner for both zoysiagrass and perennial ryegrass when it is blended with sand within a range of 10 to 20% by volume.
