MLSN

I thought it might be useful to summarize the key details of MLSN in a cheat sheet. For people using MLSN, or wanting to use it, this 2 page cheat sheet is intended to be a handy reference.

This isn’t just a story about the fertilizer choices or the costs. There is a lot more to it, and I encourage you to read the entire post at Gulotti’s The Walking Greenkeeper blog.

This inquiry came to my inbox: “I’ve been asked to give a seminar on MLSN guidelines for the [ ]. I intend to keep the explanation fairly simple. Are there any frequently asked questions that you have encountered that I could use in my presentations to help me make sure I’m explaining it clear enough … On a side note…I have been teaching this method of soil fertility interpretations for two years to my [ ] turf students and I can’t quite understand the resistance I get from superintendents….

I was writing an article yesterday about MLSN and reading some articles about soil testing and turfgrass nutrition. I came across this gem from Turner & Waddington (1978). “Unfortunately, turfgrass recommendations appear to be based on research done with other crops, such as forages, results from turfgrass fertility studies not designed to relate to soil testing, and the best judgement of the agronomist making the recommendations.

Matt Nelson asked about this in a recent seminar. I was explaining that conventional nutrient guidelines, as described in this article by Carrow et al., classify soils as low, medium or high.

That’s the title of my seminar today at the Alberta Property Manager’s Conference. Minimalist is not a word I would often use, but when I looked at the conference program, that was the title I saw.

Those are the results Jason Haines described in his post about the evolution of precision fertilizer application. He explains how he makes use of observations, measurements, and predictions to find site specific nutrient requirements.

This question came in the mail: As to the MLSN guidelines that you have been a big proponent of, how do they apply to growing in a new course. I have wondered if they are more geared toward once a turfgrass becomes established and you are in maintenance mode.

When Andrew McDaniel wrote about #MLSN greens, I thought it may be interesting to show a few details of what this is about: These #MLSN greens are about to take 34 mows/21 rolls in 2 weeks.

Allan Dewald posted a poll on Twitter, asking how many other superintendents on Twitter are using the MLSN guidelines. The results of the poll, with 93 votes, were 41% using MLSN, 38% using conventional guidelines, and 21% not soil testing.