Where did my nitrogen fertiliser go?
Maintaining a healthy turf-playing surface with high wear tolerance, aesthetic quality and an acceptable rate of growth requires efficient use of fertilisers. When added nitrogen (N) is applied, turfgrass managers expect a response from the turf. Most turfgrass managers apply fertiliser and expect the response from the added N to last a defined period of time. Most turfgrass managers consider fertilisers a major line-item expense in their budgets. But, can you imagine 20-45% of your applied fertiliser-N not being available for plant uptake because it was lost? The goal of any fertiliser application is to provide nutrients that are needed to sustain a healthy plant. Knowing that not all of the nutrients are used immediately by the plant, the second goal of any fertiliser application is for the nutrients to remain in the soil so that they are available to the plant when needed. However, this is not always the case. The N cycle is complex and in recent years, researchers have focused on p
