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From Food Waste to Fertilizer
October 29, 2008 GolfdomConverted Organics, a Boston-based company that diverts food waste from landfills to create an all-natural, organic liquid fertilizer, is expanding its base to the golf course maintenance industry.
Converted Organics says it uses "proven" technologies to create a product that helps grow healthier food and improve environmental quality. The company said its product resulted in improved turf growth and quality, as well as excellent disease suppression, when used at Cape Cod Country Club.
Mark McEachern, superintendent of Cape Cod Country Club, applied three treatments of Converted Organics’ all-natural Liquid Concentrate 1-1-1 fertilizer at a rate of 4 gallons per acre to Poa annua, bentgrass, ryegrass and bluegrass on the greens, tees and fairways starting in August.
"The turf definitely increased in population, and the overall look and quality noticeably improved," McEachern said in a press release. "We did not experience a single fungus problem, even at the half-rate application."
Converted Organics’ products contain antioxidants and plant hormones such as cytokinin, which in turn stimulate the plant to produce high levels of salicylic acid, said William Torello, Ph.D. and professor emeritus of plant and soil science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and director of product research and development for Converted Organics.
"This acid confers a natural resistance to fungal bacterial diseases. As a result of the plant's reaction, growers can drastically reduce their fungicide budget by as much as 75 percent."
Converted Organics recently appointed Frank L. Santos as Eastern Pro-Turf regional sales manager and Roger "Skip" Lynch Jr. as Western Pro-Turf regional sales manager.
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