Best Management Practices for Maryland Golf Courses

Plant Tissue Analysis

Plant tissue analysis can provide additional information on the nutritional status of a turfgrass stand when used in conjunction with soil testing. While soil tests indicate the level of available essential nutrients in the soil, they do not indicate what the plant has actually taken up. Analysis of turfgrass tissue samples indicates the level of macro and micronutrients actually in the plant. However, low tissue levels of a given plant nutrient may not indicate a lack of nutrient availability but rather an abiotic problem, such as stress, or a biotic problem, such as a root pathogen, that reduces or inhibits nutrient uptake. A lack of regional correlation data and numerous problems regarding taking representative tissue samples further limit the impact of using tissue sampling as the primary tool for adjusting nutrient management programs. Perhaps the greatest potential use of tissue sampling is for turf grown on soil with a very low cation exchange capacity (CEC), such as the high sand content mixtures used on greens and tees. In these situations, the nutrient retentive capacity of the soil is very low, and the potential for nutrient imbalances (high levels of one nutrient causing excessively low levels of another nutrient) in the plant is thus relatively high. Tissue sampling can indicate when such imbalances are occurring. These situations are most likely to be occur with micronutrients, but can also occasionally occur with macronutrients. Understanding the components of fertilizers, the fertilizer label, and the function of each element within the plant are all essential in the development of an efficient nutrient management program. Macronutrients are required in the greatest quantities and include N, P, and K. Learning about the role of each macronutrient within the plant provides a greater understanding of why these nutrients play such a key role in proper turfgrass management. Nutrient management guidelines are published by the University of Maryland (see Nutrient Management Guidelines for Golf Courses in Maryland . 2013. University of Maryland) and should be followed in order to ensure compliance with state regulations. Fertilizers Used in Golf Course Management

Nitrogen Sources

Nitrogen applications to golf course turf are essential to provide sufficient growth to recover from intense traffic, to minimize the potential for disease incidence, and to maintain sufficient turfgrass density that minimizes weed encroachment, surface water runoff, and soil erosion. Three areas of N applications that are interrelated need to be addressed to develop a sound N management program:

Source of N in a fertilizer.

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• Rates of application (per application and total annual N applied). • Timing of applications during the year.

A wide range of N-containing fertilizers is available to the turfgrass manager. These fertilizers generally fall into one of two broad categories:

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