SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/560546
www.stma.org September 2015 | SportsTurf 17 Essential Nutrient Chemical Symbol Available Form Primary Role Mobility Tissue Sufficiency Range Frequency of Deficiency In Turfgrasses Deficiency Occurrence Excessive Occurrence Carbon C CO 2 Many --- --- Sometimes Drought Stress --- Hydrogen H H 2 O Many --- --- Sometimes Drought Stress --- Oxygen O CO 2 O 2 Many --- --- Sometimes Compaction, water-logged --- Nitrogen N NO 3 - NH 4 + Amino Acids Nucleic acids Proteins Enzymes Mobile % 2.8-3.5 Common Sandy soils; high leaching conditions from high rainfall or irrigation; clipping removal; denitrification; low pH (<4.8) Direct toxicity as a salt; excessive growth and tissue succulence Phosphorus P H 2 PO 4 - HPO 4 -2 Sugar phos- phates Phospholipids Nucleic acids Enzymes ATP Mobile % 0.20-0.55 Sometimes Sandy, low CEC, irrigated soils; under low pH(<5.5) or high pH (>7.5-8.5); reduced uptake in cold soils with high clay content May induce Fe deficiency under some conditions Potassium K K + Enzymes Stomata func- tion Mobile % 1.5-3.0 Sometimes Sandy or low CEC soils; low pH (<5.5); clipping removal; soils receiving high Ca & Mg additions Contributes to salinity stress; cause fertilizer burn; suppresses Mg, Ca, or Mn uptake Calcium Ca Ca +2 Cell walls Enzymes Immobile % 0.50-1.25 Rare Low pH (<5.5) on low CEC, high leach- ing soils; soils receiving high levels of Na, Al, Mn or H Can induce deficiencies of Mg, K, Mn, or Fe Magnesium Mg Mg +2 Chlorophyll Mobile % 0.15-0.50 Sometimes Low pH (<5.5) on low CEC, high leach- ing soils; under high Na, Ca, or K additions Can induce deficiencies of K, Mn, and Ca Sulfur S SO 4 -2 Proteins Somewhat Mobile % 0.20-0.50 Sometimes Low organic matter; sandy, low CEC soils; under high N with clipping removal Cause foliar burn; induce soil acidity; contribute to black layer under anaero- bic conditions Iron Fe Fe +2 , Fe +3 Fe Chelates Chlorophyll pigment Proteins Immobile ppm 50-100 Common High pH(>7.5); excessive thatch; cold and wet soils; low organic matter soils; irrigation water high in HCO 3 - , Ca, Mn, Zn, or Cu Acidic, poorly drained soils can produce toxic levels; can induce Mn deficiencies; blackened leaves and injury Manganese Mn Mn +2 Mn Chelates Enzymes Photosynthetic evolution of O 2 Immobile ppm 20-100 Sometimes High pH(>7.0); calcareous soils; warm weather reduces availability; high levels of Cu, Zn, Fe, and Na on leached low CEC soils Low pH(<4.8); anaerobic soils; high Mn can induce Ca, Fe, and Mg deficiencies Zinc Zn Zn +2 ZnOH + Enzymes Somewhat Mobile ppm 20-55 Rare High pH (>7.0); high levels of Fe, Cu, Mn, P, or N; high soil moisture; cool wet weather and low light intensity Municipal waste; high levels may induce Fe or Mg deficiencies Copper Cu Cu +2 Cu(OH) + Cu Chelates Enzymes Somewhat Mobile ppm 5-20 Rare High pH; organic soils; heavily leached sandy soils; high levels of Fe, Mn, Zn, and N Use of sewage sludge; pig/poultry manures; over-application of micros Molybdenum Mo MoO 4 -2 HMoO 4 - Nitrate reduc- tion for N 2 fixation Somewhat Mobile ppm 1-4 Rare Low pH, sandy soils; soils high in Fe and Al oxides; high levels of Cu, Mn, Fe, and S suppress uptake High pH, wet soils Boron B H 3 BO 3 BO 3 -3 Cell wall and plasma mem- brane integrity Somewhat Mobile ppm 5-60 Rare High pH induces deficiencies on leached calcareous soils; high Ca; dry soils; high K may increase deficiency High B in irrigation water; over-application of micros; compost amendments Chlorine Cl Cl - Photosynthetic evolution of O 2 Mobile ppm 200-400 Never Uptake suppressed by high NO 3 - and SO 4 2- Component of many salts enhancing soil salinity reducing water avail- ability Nickel Ni Ni +2 Urease enzyme to transform urea to NH 3 --- ppm < 1.0 Never Conditions unclear; rare occurrence of deficiency Use of sewage sludge Table 1. Essential nutrients, their function, sufficiency range in shoot tissue, and potential deficiency/excessive occurrence to plants Table developed from: Carrow, R.N, D.V. Waddington, and P.E. Rieke. Turfgrass Soil Fertility and Chemical Problems. 2001. Ann Arbor Press. Chelsea, Michigan.