A field study to compare soil water NO − 3 ‐N concentration and cumulative NO − 3 losses by percolation of 10 cultivars each of Kentucky bluegrass ( Poa pratensis L.), perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne L.), and tall fescue ( Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) was conducted at the University of Rhode Island Turfgrass Research Station, Kingston, between March 1990 and April 1992. All turf plots were established in 1985, 1986, or 1987 on an Enfield silt loam (Coarse loamy over sandy skeletal, mixed, mesic, Typic Dystrochrepts) under moderate N fertilization of 149 kg N ha −1 y −1 . Soil water was collected at a depth of 60 cm to determine NO − 3 ‐N concentration and annual cumulative NO − 3 losses through leaching were determined by a hydrological model which estimates soil water percolation. Significant differences among species and cultivars were identified in soil water NO − 3 ‐N concentration and NO − 3 leaching potential based on monthly and seasonal analyses. These results indicate that genetic differences exist among turfgrasses for NO − 3 utilization at both interspecific and intraspecific levels and suggest that a screening program could be developed to identify turfgrass cultivars having superior capacity to remove NO − 3 from the soil and minimize the potential for NO − 3 leaching.
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Liu et al. (1997) studied this question.