2 Aug 2010 by christopher birks
can you put straight nitrogen on a football pitch or is it better to mix it with something else.a local farmer has got some we can have.
2 Aug 2010 by Mike
You can apply straight fertilisers, but I would generally advise against applying a fertiliser simply for the sake of applying a fertiliser. First step is to assess what nutrients the plant needs via soil tests and visual inspection of the sward, then take things from there.
Mike
2 Aug 2010 by mario
Apologies in advance if I am wide of the mark here, but is it not the case, that one should be using fertilisers which are approved for sports amenity use and not ones specific to agriculture?
If indeed this is the type on offer.
I know no boundaries.
There are no rules about use of agric. fertiliser on turf but it is not advisable as agric. fertilisers are formulated to give maximum growth to a crop. Turf fertilisers are formulated to give a more controlled release over a period of time. Let's face it you do not want a crop of hay from your pitch you want steady consistant growth. One other thing. An NPK agric. fertiliser is a mixture of individual prills of each nutrient whereas in a turf fertiliser each prill is made up of all three elements.
Chris
You will never see a statue in honour of a committee.
i take it the farmer will have straight nitrogen at 34.5% which will make the grass grow to quickly so prepare to mow constantly, the agricultural fertilsers which are a complex granular compound do have each nutrient in it the size of the prill is larger than an amenity product , you have a choice with amenity fertilisers for having smaller granules even micro granules so applying a more even product over an area , maybe to explain it better would to think a farmer would use a product like 20-10-10 on amenity it would equate to a 10-5-5 so if you use the agricultural product to put on what you think is the right amount you apply less product and so get less coverage because of the prill size. also on the agricultural ones which are blends are made up of individual nutrients with filler to make up the product .hope this makes sense
tim
3 Aug 2010 by lee@standish Last edited 3 Aug 2010
"Ask a farmer for advice and do the exact opposite"
L.K.B
3 Aug 2010 by Mike Last edited 3 Aug 2010
To bring a little balance to this argument, what I can say is that I have used some ag fertilisers in the past with fantastic results. It is important to get the right blend, apply at the right rate in the right conditions, but I certainly wouldn't write off the suggestion all together.
There are an awful lot of 'buzz words' around at the minute when it comes to products, when the reality of it is in side by side trials, in certain conditions, a lot of people would be hard pushed to notice the difference between the products used, be it amenity or ag fertilisers. It's easy to get blinded by science and terminology - if the numbers add up, don't worry so much. If there are good savings to be had, trial the products - i'm sure any reputable supplier would offer small samples for trial purposes, so there's nothing to lose.
Mike
3 Aug 2010 by mackay
I too have used ag fertilisers with excellent results on heavier soils where it tends to stay in the soil solution for longer. It's a bit rough and ready but will certainly work.
My advice would be to use little and often to avoid putting on a massive hit in one go and try to time your application just before rain. The prills will dissapear into the soil solution almost instantly and so minimise speckling.
If you can afford it the use a 'better' turf product, but don't write ag ferts off.
Surely most soccer and rugby players are animals !!!!!! So an ag fert should do fine !!!!!!!!!!
4 Aug 2010 by Anthony Asquith Last edited 4 Aug 2010
I trialed and tested this over a year in controlled plots and at various sports grounds and golf courses and agricultural based NH4NO3 outperformed a multitude of much more expensive ones on the market plus a whole range of slow/controlled release fertilizers. The plant cannot tell the difference nor does it care how much the bag was or where it came from or the colour of the bag.
When agricultural fertilizers are applied little and often, with reduced quantity but high frequency in most situations, it's hard to beat on with organic and inorganic Nitrogen forms.
This all comes back to everything I have said in the past, I am amazed how much money people waste on the numerous products out there - and it abounds, I cannot believe how gullable some turf practitioners can be where the answers come with a basic understanding of soil/plants and research.
AA
How much Nitrogen is in this bag of fertiliser?
If its a high strength then you will probably get lush growth which will then lead to Fusarium.
I don't know where you are based but up here in Preston its been raining for nearly 3 weeks and the grass is shooting up.
Why do you think the pitch is in need of a feed? any symptoms?
Do you have a fertiliser programme in place?
Cheers
L.K.B
5 Aug 2010 by christopher birks
thanks for your post ,the farmer has got 20-5-5 so we have bought 600k for 250 pound this should last us a good few seasons as we will only use a little each time.
Back to Top - Go to Next Unread Message
This Message is closed, you may not post a reply at this time