Golfdom, September 2012

The G1000B Fertigation System from Turf Feeding Systems sells for less than 5000 Word to the wise Every superintendent should know that fertigation is supplemental to granualar applications It is not something that can stand alone King says You dont end up with any reserves in the soil because youre putting it out in very small increments spoon feeding At Rustic Canyon Hicks still does granular fertilizer applications in the spring and fall for a burst of growth after aerification He also does a foliar spraying of micronutrients on his greens a process that he wants to isolate so he does not send that out through fertigation Ewings King says its a good idea to check the status of the irrigation system prior to injecting anything into the lines Dont set it and forget it he says Check your equipment every time Make sure you have proper head rotation on critical areas like greens Make sure that your injection lines from your tank feeding into your main line are in good shape Make sure your injector itself has been set up the way you want it for the proper rate There is still some labor involved in preparation in mixing your tank or hooking up your barrels but ultimately its a better labor savings than what you would have if you sent out two to three people to do a granular fertilization on the golf course Hicks says although hes happy with his fertigation system fellow superintendents need to assess their own facilities before installing a system For me it has worked well because we do not have a large budget he says With our sandy soil conditions and low labor fertigation has worked really well In other climates it would really depend Hicks notes that the irrigation source for example could weigh heavily on the decision on whether or not to fertigate Are they pulling from multiple lakes where they would need multiple injection points he asks I have one inlet coming in and Im not pulling from a reservoir so its simple It depends on the situation Stacie Zinn Roberts is president of Whats Your Avocado a writing and marketing firm based in Mount Vernon Wash w w w g o l f d o m c o m Golfdom 25