Planet Turf helps people achieve healthy turfgrass by providing products and services that offer options for managing soil, biological systems and soil chemistry. Highly efficient fertilizer ingredients are an important feature of our products. Soil and tissue testing services can be used to monitor the nutrient status of soil and plants and provide a basis for fertilizer and cultural programs.

Planet Turf product line includes liquid and granular fertilizer products that are designed for root and foliar uptake in a form that is easily metabolized by the plan.

WHAT IS A FOLIAR APPLICATION?
WHAT ARE AMINO ACID CHELATES?
WHAT ARE HUMIC SUBSTANCES AND WHY SHOULD I USE THEM?
MONITORING NUTRIENT STATUS WITH TISSUE TESTS

WHAT IS A FOLIAR APPLICATION?

Many nutrients and chemicals can enter a plant through leaf. Anyone who has applied Roundup on grass knows this! Entry into the leaf is affected by many factors including environment, soil chemistry, soil physical conditions, type of nutrient, electrical charges, and other conditions that affect plant biological processes.

A foliar application can is useful when soil conditions tie up soil nutrients and limit root uptake. The amount of nutrient that can be leaf absorbed is very low and is a temporary correction, not meant to improve long-term plant health.

Foliar absorption is limited by low humidity, and arid regions often produce a plant with thick cuticles and limited time of stomata opening. Foliar absorption stops when the product dries on the leaf. This can happen very rapidly. TRACK® liquid foliar nutrients are designed to enter the grass leaf through cracks, stomata and micro-pores in the leaf. Applying nutrients to the grass leaf can be a useful tool, especially in correcting nutrient deficiency. While nutrients can be absorbed readily into the leaf, not all nutrients will move from the point of absorption to other areas of the plant. This is not to say there is no benefit. Iron sulfate, for example, applied to grass in a fine mist spray will produce green color response, but the iron is not translocated to other leaves, stems or roots. After several days, the leaf is mowed off, and the green effect is gone. The same is true for Ca, Mn, B, Mo, Cu and Zn.

Foliar nutrient and plant hormone applications should be a part of your total management program that includes granular fertilizer, soil amendments, and cultural practices such as aeration.

What to read more information?

Guide To Nutrient Status (Connolly)

Foliar Fertilization for Turfgrass (Clemson U.)

The form of micronutrients greatly influences their uptake and utilization by plants. Planet Turf uses a patented technology of amino acid chelation to improve nutrient efficiency. The amino acids used in Micro Sea are exclusive organic acids (L-amino acids) obtained from fermentation and enzymatic processes that provide superior uptake of nutrients. The efficient absorption of nutrients will reduce plant stress, reduce fertilizer costs, and produce higher quality plants. Amino acid chelation will improve nutrient availability in soil, as well as foliar uptake.

Want to read more about amino acid benefits?

Amino Acid Technology (NAP, Wicks)

Humic substances include humus, humic acid, fulvic acid and other high carbon organic molecules. They are an important part of the soil complex and are often limited in intensely managed soils such as golf course greens. Humic acids can also improve nutrient absorption through the leaf, root as well as total nutrient efficiency. Applying humic substances to soils improve plant health in several ways.

• Increase available water to roots by reducing evaporation
• Increase microbial populations
• Improved root growth
• Increases soil buffering
• Chelates nutrients
• Reduces fertilizer use

Planet Turf offers humus-based granular fertilizers in our Gro Power® line of products.

HUMIC ACID

Research at several universities have shown humic acid, when added to spray applications of seaweed extract, significantly stimulated photosynthetic capacity of creeping bentgrass and gave a positive effect during stress conditions. Plant Turf adds humic acid to MicroSea and a number of other TRACK® products. We also sell a 6% humic acid solution called HumaHealth.

Want to read more about Humic Substances?

Research Report on Humic Acid (Humic Substances)

Tissue testing is only useful when results are immediately available. In 2008 we introduced the first 24 hour tissue test result service that was used by over 50 golf courses to monitor the nutrient status of there greens. This allows the turfgrass manager to make fertilizer application decisions to correct deficiencies when the deficiency occurs. The program was highly successful and resulted in reductions in fertilizer applications and costs on many golf courses.

Soil testing is the accepted method of monitoring soil nutrient potential and has been used as a tool for determining fertilizer applications for many years. Turf managers should take one or two soil tests per year to monitor the soil nutrient levels and track changes to the soil. Kuo Testing uses the most advanced Plasma ITS machine that can test multiple elements in seconds with parts- per-billion accuracy. Results are delivered within 24 hours! We provide soil testing services through Kuo Testing in Othello, WA.

Sample Tissue Test Result

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