Today, temperatures finally began to climb out of the negatives. With the onset of warmer weather, (using this term gently) I felt it was a good time to start looking towards spring. Over the last few months there have been several inquiries regarding lawn fertilization. In response, I have revised the Iowa State University home lawn fertilization publication. Although you will not be pulling out the fertilizer bag for another 4-5 months, I thought I would inspire you with some information that will get you ready for warmer weather. The publication outlines the importance of fertilization, rates and timing of application, label requirements in Iowa, and fertilizer products in the market.
The following is a small excerpt from the introduction.
Lawns are an important component of many home
landscapes. Good cultural practices are necessary to achieve a healthy,
attractive lawn. One important cultural practice is fertilization. The benefits
of a well-maintained lawn fertilization program are good turf color, quality
and density. There are 14 elements which are often referred to as mineral
nutrient elements and are generally obtaining in the soil via root extraction. The
quantity of most of these nutrients contained
in the soil is high compared
with the requirements of turfgrass plants. However
the demands for
nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium often
exceed the supply in the
soil. Thus, it becomes
necessary to add these elements through
fertilization.
Turfgrasses require nitrogen (N) in
the largest amount of
any of the essential nutrients. For
this reason, nitrogen is usually applied
in the largest amounts.
Nitrogen nutrition is important
to turfgrasses because it can
affect shoot growth and density, root
growth, and susceptibility to
damage from disease, heat, cold,
and drought.
Turfgrasses require potassium (K) in
relatively large amounts, second only to
nitrogen. Potassium influences
turfgrass rooting, disease susceptibility
and drought, heat, and
cold hardiness. The terms soluble potash, soluble
potassium and K20 may be used to refer to potassium fertilization.
Phosphorus (P) is required by turfgrass plants in
smaller amounts than nitrogen
and potassium. Phosphorus is
important in the establishment, rooting, maturation,
and reproduction of turfgrasses. The terms available phosphate,
available phosphorus, available phosphoric acid, and P2O5
may be used to refer to phosphorus fertilization.
The entire extension publication is attached in
pdf form. To download the publication, click on the following link Fertilizer Publication.
or use the following address: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzSKKI3Akgy_ejV0d3FQSU1mLVk/edit?usp=sharing
