Testing of three sensor systems to predict water and nutrient contents of soccer field turfgrass clippings

ŞEKERLİ Y. E., KESKİN M., SOYSAL Y.

Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, vol.59, 2021 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 59
  • Publication Date: 2021
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126909
  • Journal Name: Urban Forestry and Urban Greening
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, PASCAL, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, Environment Index, Geobase, Greenfile, PAIS International, Veterinary Science Database
  • Keywords: Chromameter, Clipping, FT-NIRS, Nutrient content, Prototype sensor, Sport field, Turfgrass
  • Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Natural turfgrass sport fields have some advantages as compared to the synthetic sport fields. They are cheaper; can be repaired cost-effectively and provide water filtration, soil stabilization, temperature regulation, CO2 absorption and O2 release to atmosphere. Yet, the maintenance procedures especially fertilization should be carried out carefully to prevent pollution of natural resources due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers. The standard method for determining the fertilizer requirement is chemical leaf and soil analysis but it is lengthy process also it requires high amount of labor and costs. Hence, a low-cost and practical technique is needed to determine the nutrient contents of turfgrass. The aim of this work was to test the performance of a low-cost prototype reflectance-based indoor sensor system to assess water and nutrient contents (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn, and Zn) of turfgrass clippings (Lolium perenne L.) and to compare it with two optical instruments (hand-held color meter and near infrared spectroscopy system, FT-NIRS). Turfgrass clippings samples (n = 30) were obtained from a soccer field. FT-NIRS system gave the best prediction performance for water and nutrient contents except for Cu. The prototype sensor gave similar results with the color meter for water content and other studied nutrients except Fe, Mn, and Zn. With the prototype sensor, NDVI gave the best result for the prediction of water (SEP = 0.96 %; R2 = 0.75) and N concentration (SEP = 0.28 %; R2 = 0.50). FT-NIRS system gave better prediction performance but it is expensive and its operation requires knowledge and experience and tiresome sample preparation as drying and grinding (extra time, energy, labor, and cost). Results depicted that an optical sensor similar to the prototype sensor could be commercially developed with low cost and ease of use and be utilized to estimate the nutrient concentration of turfgrass clipping samples with moderate performance.