Next-Level Fall Fairway Nutrition
Posted by Ben Pease, Agronomist on September 05, 2023
Your fairways and roughs have had a stressful year. Increased rounds, drought, and insect population outbreaks have pushed your turf to its limit. So how do you best help it recover?
Preparation for your course’s next busy season begins in this season, the fall fertilization season. Aerification recovery, decreased sunlight, and increased fall rounds played can stress out even the best-managed fairways and roughs. Proper fall fertilization and cultural practices can make all the difference in helping turf recover from a stressful summer season and enter the winter best prepared for the upcoming spring.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FALL FERTILTY
Fall fertilization is one of the best tools for helping fairways and roughs recover from summer stress as the turfgrass plant stores much of its carbohydrate supply during this time, rather than consuming it for shoot growth. Cooler nights and shorter days result in most grasses driving root growth.
Nitrogen fertility applied in the fall has a positive effect on turfgrass growth and performance in the following spring. Phosphorus applications are also important if overseeding tees, fairways, or roughs during the fall months, as phosphorus will promote seedling establishment through increased root growth.
PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS
Whether your turf is recovering from recent aerification events, you’re overseeding rough to recover from armyworm damage, encouraging new seedlings, or you're looking to feed and strengthen your surviving turf, our CarbonCoat line of technology-centric products are designed to simplify application and improve overall plant health.
CarbonCoat products utilize a patented manufacturing process to bond fertilizer granules with a potassium humate coating. These clean, spherical, free-flowing granules deliver nitrogen and humic acid simultaneously.
The CarbonCoat family of products includes Humic Coated Urea (HCU®), Poly-Coated Humic Coated Urea (PCHCU™), and Humic Coated Ammonium Sulfate (HCAS™).
CARBONCOAT FERTILIZER BLENDS
Along with their featured CarbonCoat components - HCU, PCHCU, and HCAS - these blends also feature beneficial materials like SmartPhos® DG slow-release phosphorus, carbon-rich humic acid, and more.
Ben Pease is the Agronomist for The Andersons Turf & Specialty business, responsible for research, service, and technical support. Ben received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Wisconsin, and earned his doctorate degree from Iowa State University. Ben has also served as the Assistant Superintendent for Cherokee Country Club (Madison, WI) and Whistling Straits Golf Courses (Sheboygan, WI). To contact Ben, click here.
© 2023 The Andersons, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Andersons logo is a registered trademark of The Andersons, Inc. Black Gypsum DG, HCU and SmartPhos are registered trademarks of The Andersons, Inc. CarbonCoat is a trademark of The Andersons, Inc.
