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Some superintendents only consider using fertigation as a fertilizing tool during the grow-in of a new course to spoon-feed seedlings and establish turf, but it is an agronomic practice that you can use regularly to improve the quality of your turf and your water.
“It’s a powerful tool that is not well-utilized,” says Dan Dinelli, CGCS, superintendent at North Shore Country Club, a private club 20 miles north of Chicago. “Guys who use these systems at new courses fall in love with them, but once the grow-in is done, they tend not to use them.”
Dinelli has had a fertigation system at North Shore since 1994. He’s learned from others how best to use fertigation. Dinelli uses it for three reasons: fertilizing, addressing water quality and to improving the soil characteristics. They have seven different injection systems. One tank, which they call their biotank, is used to inject humic acid and soluble seaweed extract, vitamins and sometimes simple sugars, such as molasses, to encourage microbial activity and make the nutrients more easily taken up by the plant.
Another injection system is specifically for wetting agents that break the surface tension of the water, allowing it to disperse and be more efficient and effective in irrigating and watering the plant. Another injection system specifically treats the bicarbonates in their irrigation water.
“Because we have high bicarbonates, this system adjusts the pH of the water,” he explains. “The acid treats the bicarbonates and helps the irrigation water perform better, keeping more nutrients available in the plant.”
Fertigation can also deliver fertilizer and plant nutrients at a slow rate to the turf. Dinelli likens this to spoon-feeding.
“We can deliver light amounts of plant nutrients at a steady rate, which gives you more control over growth and more control over consumption,” he says. “You are not spiking large amounts of nutrients at any one time; you are delivering them at low rates. So, you never see a big flush of any type when you fertigate. Over time, you supply the plant’s nutrition, meeting its daily demands, based largely on temperature. As it warms up, the plant can handle more nitrogen and you can match that demand.
“With fertigation, you get the benefits people see when they spoon feed through a sprayer, but you are not sending a guy out, using gasoline, personnel and labor,” he adds. “Instead, you are using the irrigation system and multi-tasking, which is a win-win. You are delivering water that is needed, but at the same time you are also delivering plant nutrients and soil building elements and perhaps addressing water quality issues if there are any. It also gives you more control. Once you apply fertilizer with a sprayer you’re done, whereas through irrigation you have control of how much you want out there every day.”
Finally, by using cheaper products that farmers use, such as potassium nitrate and calcium nitrate – materials not targeted to the golf course industry – Dinelli’s been able to significantly cut his fertilizer budget.
“Conservatively, with fertigation, you can reduce your fertilizer budget by 30 percent,” he says. “That’s assuming you have a modern irrigation system.
“The costs of fertilizers went through the roof this year and they are going to continue going up,” Dinelli says. “Any way we can reduce the cost of that line item, that’s thousands of dollars. The cost savings and agronomic benefits all pay back … fertigation is a slam dunk in my mind.”
Water quality.
In each pump station, Greytok figures out how much fertilizer he wants to put out for a month based on Dr. York’s recommendations, then mixes this up and puts it out once per week. This year, Greytok says he is planning to use their fertigation system more for fertilizers to cut the labor involved in their spraying programs.
“In some ways, I feel more comfortable doing this as long as the irrigation system is working well,” he says. “You can apply a lot of nutrients with ease and with a safer delivery system. It’s a constant feed instead of these big doses and slugs from granular fertilizer.”
While Greytok admits the mix time is still the same, he saves labor, which can be shifted elsewhere, by not having to assign four individuals to spray fairways, tees and rough.
“It is really making us more efficient with our time,” he says. “I can dedicate people to other tasks. The other nice thing is you can mix and match fertilizers more easily and inject what you want. Sometimes you don’t have that flexibility or option with what comes in the jug. As long as you do a little digging and research, you can find a lot of products you can inject easily.”
Better turf.
Another way to look at your irrigation system is to see it as a giant spray rig, says Andy Moore, director of sales at Aquatrols, which offers a product called Dispatch injectable, specifically designed to inject through a fertigation system to improve water penetration and utilization. “You have the ability to reach and treat all of the golf course at the push of a button,” he says.
“That’s where fertigation can be a very effective means to apply products broadly across the golf course.”
It’s an effective way for a superintendent to treat water problems across an entire property, Moore says. “It’s a great, economical way to manage water and ultimately use less water to get the job done and maintain the golf course,” he adds.
Dispatch injectable allows the water to penetrate into the ground, so there is less water runoff and waste. “Look at the numbers… 30 to 70 per cent of water supplied through your irrigation system doesn’t get to the root zone,” he says. “Even at the low end, that’s a significant amount of water that is not going to be available to the roots.” Using a penetrating product through an irrigation system makes water use much more effective and efficient, with a 25 to 50 percent reduction in water use, he adds.
The best program is to put material out at a light rate, but frequently – once per week. “This retreats the soil and keeps the water moving uniformly into the root system,” Moore says.
David Phipps, superintendent at Stone Creek Golf Club, just outside Portland, Ore., uses Dispatch. He first saw a fertigation system in use at BlackHorse Golf Club in Houston. At Stone Creek, lack of supply contributes to their water challenges. This has made them better water managers and forced them to put water where it makes the biggest impact. He puts down 10 gallons of Dispatch weekly, spoon-feeding it to make the water work better.
“I have that set on a separate timer in the pumphouse and just set it to coincide with my cycle on my irrigation system for fairways,” Phipps says. “It clicks on when the fairways start watering and clicks off when they are done. It’s pretty simple to use. It goes right into the main line. It has a one-way valve that injects into the irrigation system. I don’t think I could manage a golf course without this option.”
By adding the product to his fertigation system, Phipps has observed better water penetration and less runoff.
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