Greens Maintenance:
Fertilization
Information courtesy of
Texas A&M University Turf Grass
http://aggieturf.tamu.edu/aggieturf2/golf/gcindex.html
Objectives
• Purpose of fertilization in turf grass
• Taking soil samples to determine nutrient
requirements
• Proper selection of fertilizer
• Calculating fertilizer in turf grass
• Fertilizer spreader calibration
Why fertilizing is important?
• Fertilizer – Supplies essential nutrients to the grass
plant for adequate growth and maintenance of plant
functions.
• Different turfgrass species require different amounts
of fertilizer
• Fertilizer should be put out at a constant rate not all
at one time!
– Plants cannot handle mass amounts of fertilizer and
will be lost to leaching or run-off
– Provide adequate nutrients throughout the
growing season
• April through September
Why are soil samples important?
• Measure relative nutrient status of soils
• Used as basis for profitable and
environmentally responsible fertilizer
application.
• Sample handling is very important in gaining
an understanding of the nutrients needed
• Time of the year may affect the
soil sample
• Increase production yields
Taking a soil sample
Pre-Sampling
• Label sampling bag
– See the following site:
http://aggieturf.tamu.edu/aggieturf2/soilsampl
e/soilsample1.html
• Clear litter from the surface
• Use spade, soil probe, or soil auger
Taking a soil sample
During Sampling
• Take a sample from 10 to 15 areas of the
location you are wanting to sample.
• Approximately 1 pint of the composite soil
sample is required to conduct analysis
• Avoid sampling small gullies, slight field
depressions, terrace waterways, or
unusual areas
• When sampling fertilized fields,
avoid sampling directly in fertilized
band
Taking a soil sample
Post Sampling
• Fill out sampling form
• Include payment with sample.
• Keep record of area represented by sample
taken
• Be sure sample numbers match sample
number on bags
Send Soil Samples to:
Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory
2474 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-2474
Proper selection of fertilizer
• Most important component in fertilizer is
nitrogen
• Three numbers separated by dashes that
make up the “analyses”
– Represents a percentage of Nitrogen,
Phosphorous, and Potassium (N-P-K)
– Three of the highest demanded nutrients
Proper selection:
Calculating price / pound
• Comparing price per pound should be
conducted to determine which fertilizer is
most economical
• Steps in calculating price per pound:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Determine which nutrient you want to calculate
Divide by 100 for decimal equivalent
Multiply by total weight of fertilizer
Divide by number of pounds of nutrient
to get price per pound of nutrient
5. Repeat for other nutrients
6. Compare to other fertilizers
Calculating fertilizer in turfgrass
Steps in determining your fertilizer needs
1.
Get a good estimate of the total size (in square feet) of
your lawn using tape measures, or number of paces,
etc... and record that number (ex. 13000 square feet)
2. What rate of nitrogen do you want to put down on
your lawn? We recommend not going above 1 pound
of nitrogen per thousand square feet.
3. What is the first number in the analysis of your bag of
fertilizer? (ex. 15 - 5 - 10) This number corresponds to
the percentage of nitrogen in the bag. The second
number corresponds to the percentage of
phosphorous and the third number, potassium.
http://aggieturf.tamu.edu/aggieturf2/calculators/fertsheet.ht
ml
Fertilizer spreader
calibration
• Select a spreader that will work best for you.
• Most common include:
– Drop spreader
– Rotary Spreader
Drop Spreader
Rotary Spreader
Drop Spreader Calibration
•
Items needed to calibrate spreader
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1.
Familiarize yourself with the drop spreader
–
2.
3.
4.
Measuring tape
Accurate scale
Cup or tray to hold fertilizer pellets
Broom and dust pan
Calculator
Know your desired application rate
Have your desired fertilizer
What is the width of the drop pattern?
Lay out a calibration distance on a smooth clean floor (approximately 10 feet)
Mark your calibration distance with objects or paint
Run spreader over the calibration distance dropping fertilizer onto the floor.
–
–
Walk at a normal speed
Open the fertilizer spreader before you enter the calibration area and
close after you pass other end of calibration area
5. Collect all fertilizer within calibration area
6. Weigh the fertilizer collected on a scale
–
Based on amount of fertilizer collected, determine if spreader
is calibrated correctly
Rotary Spreader
Calibration
• Items needed to calibrate spreader
–
–
–
–
–
Know your desired application rate
Have your desired fertilizer
Catch pans to collect fertilizer
Scale
Calculator
• Steps to calibrate spreader
1. Determine the width of the “throw pattern”
a.
b.
Walk at a normal rate of speed
How far in each direction do the pellets fly?
2. Lay out catch pans in a perpendicular line to the
line of travel
a.
b.
Pans should be equal distance apart from each other.
Lay out as many pans as possible
Rotary Spreader Calibration cont.
• Steps to calibrate spreader
1.
Determine the width of the “throw
pattern”
a.
b.
2.
Lay out catch pans in a perpendicular line to the
line of travel
a.
b.
3.
4.
Walk at a normal rate of speed
How far in each direction do the pellets fly?
Pans should be equal distance apart from each other.
Lay out as many pans as possible
Walk toward the line of the catch pans and walk directly
over the center pan.
Open the spreader before you reach the line
of pans and close the spreader after you have
passed the pans
a.
Will ensure that all fertilizer thrown to the sides
and behind is accounted for.
Rotary Spreader
Calibration cont.
5.
Determine desired application rate and the analysis of fertilizer
being used.
a.
6.
Measure amount of fertilizer in each catch pan after disbursement.
a.
b.
c.
7.
Center pan should have the most and the out pans should have the least
Should produce a bell shaped curve
If you overlap 100% or wheel to wheel coverage then the bell shaped
curve patterns overlap and the result is a consistent amount of fertilizer
on all areas of the turf.
Pour contents of each pan into clear cup
a.
b.
8.
Visit following link for example: Aggieturf
Place center catch pan cup in the middle
and move outward in each direction
A bell shaped look should be present
Weigh the fertilizer from the center catch
pan disbursement
Rotary Spreader
Calibration cont.
Good example of fertilizer pattern
Bad example of fertilizer
pattern
A Look Back…
• Purpose of fertilization in turf grass
• Taking soil samples to determine nutrient
requirements
• Proper selection of fertilizer
• Calculating fertilizer in turf grass
• Fertilizer spreader calibration
For more information on fertilization visit the following
website:
http://aggieturf.tamu.edu/aggieturf2/golf/fertilization.html