Turf managers who missed out on an opportunity to participate in last year's Global Soil Survey still have a chance to take part in the program and receive customized information about site-specific fertility needs.A cooperative effort between PACE Turf and the Asian Turfgrass Center, the Global Soil Survey provides researchers with a database of soil conditions around the world and turf managers with detailed information about fertility needs, including deficits and excesses, on their respective properties. The end result is a program that has helped many turf managers reduce fertility rates by more than 50 percent without compromising turf quality.
Those registering to participate in the survey will receive all materials needed to pack and ship three soil samples to Brookside Laboratories in New Bremen, Ohio, sample analysis, and a customized report by Larry Stowell, Ph.D., of PACE Turf and Micah Woods, Ph.D., of the Asian Turfgrass Center that includes information on soil nutritional conditions, including nutrient deficits and excesses, and customized fertility guidelines. Results typically are received within a week after the lab receives samples.
The Global Soil Survey is a response to the many versions of fertility guidelines available for turf managers today.
"Our findings challenge the soil nutritional guidelines that most of us have been using for years," Stowell said. "While these older guidelines all produced good quality turf, they frequently resulted in unnecessary applications of fertilizer. Today, when everyone is concerned about budgets and environmental impact, anything we can do to reduce inputs is going to be incredibly beneficial."
The benefits of participating in the survey, according to PACE, include knowledge of local soil conditions, recommendations for maximizing turf quality while minimizing fertility inputs, the ability to document progress toward sustainability, having the tools need for doing what is right and assuming a position of leadership within the industry.
"The Global Soil Survey is an exciting citizen science project that helps each participant determine just the right amount of each nutrient for their turf, at their location," Woods said. "When turf is fed with just the amount it needs, we see that fertilizer rates usually go down quite significantly."