nitrogen

The way we manage the turf affects playability. That’s obvious. Everyone knows that. Knowing that management affects playability is one thing. Doing something about it is another. When you see just how large the clipping volume and OM246 effects on playability actually are, the numbers will surprise you.

A friend is in charge of a type of grass he hasn’t grown before. We went to look at the grass, and on the way to the golf course, he told me that someone had told him the grass didn’t need much sand topdressing.

If you’ve got some organic matter in the soil, then you will get some nitrogen (N) that the grass can use from it. This is called mineralization. As the organic matter decomposes, some of the N that was in the organic matter is converted into inorganic forms in the soil.

One of the many ways to learn is through conversations with industry veterans. Their wisdom about how turf is managed now, and how it was managed in the past, can be invaluable.

Is there a way to estimate how much nitrogen is harvested in clippings? Is there an equation to use to adjust a nitrogen fertilizer rate based on the Turf GvX?1 Yes, there are ways to do both of these.

I bought a new book last year in January and got my hands on it in December. It’s the Compendium of Turfgrass Diseases, Fourth Edition, published by APS Press in 2023.

I know this can use more explanation, because I’ve heard people refer to “their MLSN N” as being some amount. When I first heard that, I was taken aback, because nitrogen (N) is explicitly not part of MLSN.

I sometimes talk about maximum N. You may have heard me refer to the standard amount of N. I discussed that with Michael Bekken in this ATC Doublecut episode. What do I mean by these quantities of N?

An anonymous golf course superintendent sent me this message: I’m blown away by the quality of these surfaces with an amount of nitrogen I would’ve thought was far too small.

From July 3 to July 10, I visited 11 golf facilities in Japan. I asked some basic questions to the greenkeeper at each course. The answers to the questions help me to understand what the greenkeeper is working with, and how many resources are available to get the job done.