O
f the many maladies that a field
manager has to stay on top of, nutri-
ent deficiencies are difficult to deal
with for many reasons. First, you don't
see them every day. A manager may ask
him/herself, just what does deficiency
look like anyway? I know that we had it
a few years back, but I don't remember
exactly. Second, unlike a turf plot at a
university or manufacturer trial, this is
a real game field with players and daily/
weekly damage from cleats and com-
paction. Third, other than odd looking
leaves, the easy to see signs and symp-
toms—bugs, spots and rots—are often
missing. As we dig into the potential for
nutrient deficiency a little deeper, main-
tain a "wide funnel" of thinking about
possible influencers and symptoms.
BEFORE JUMPING TO
CONCLUSIONS
When working with the possibility of a
nutrient deficiency, it's best to take a rea-
soned and steady course of action steps.
The scenario where a good chunk of the
soccer field is looking kinda rough….
yellow, not green…you may be asking
yourself, Should I be worrying? Should
I run out and buy a bag of fertilizer
and dump it on quick? The answer is
maybe; or maybe not. It's wise to avoid
the accomplishment of Tom Smykowski
and create a "Jump to Conclusions mat",
(think Office Space) where there would
be a set of nutrient deficiencies that you
could assume are responsible.
In the case of maybe not, fully con-
sider that there could be lots of other
causes of the look of the turf. A process
of triage to eliminate other causes is very
helpful. Asking questions of other turf
14 SportsTurf | June 2015 www.sportsturfonline.com
DIAGNOSING NUTRIENT
DEFICIENCIES
FIELD SCIENCE
■ BY JOHN C. FECH AND BRAD JAKUBOWSKI
Example of nitrogen deficiency, courtesy of
Brad Jakubowski, Doane College.