Golfdom, December 2010

Big on Bio 36 Golfdom December 2010 LebanonTurf hosted its event in September Mycorrhizal Applications Inc and Robin Ross market development scientist in the plant science division for Acadian Seaplants Limited All spoke on the benefits that bionutritional products add to turfgrass maintenance programs when used in conjunction with conventional fertilizers Gaussoin said he was skeptical of bionutritional products until he began testing some of the products and then his eyes were opened to their benefits His tests revealed that using bionutritional products could provide superintendents the opportunity to reduce fertilizer application rates by up to 30 percent over granular or dry fertilizers with no change in performance Gaussoin also said bionutritional products help improve soil structure and plant root health Gaussoins research also revealed bionutritional products play a major role in unlocking labile nutrients that are locked in the soil as a result of organic matter deposition The only way those nutrients will be released is by some sort of biological activity Gaussoin said That nitrogen is waiting to be released We just need some biological condition primarily microbial based to release it to the plant Next to water bionutrients are the most important attribute for plant health Gaussoin added Thats how important they are but we pigeonhole them in a black box because were not sure how they work he said Gaussoin and the other speakers admitted theyre not entirely sure how bionutritional products function We thought it was simply adding an organism Gaussoin said But it may not be the organism it may be what the organism produces when it dies Gaussoin said he doesnt think superintendents care how bionutritional products function If the products are backed by solid research and positive peer review superintendents will consider using the products In her presentation Ross noted that bionutritional products such as those containing seaweed extract enable turf Continued from page 35