Crystal Green receives phosphorus exemptions

VANCOUVER—As the trend toward restricting the use of phosphorus-containing fertilizers on turfgrass continues, Crystal Green, the world’s first slow-release, renewable and environmentally responsible phosphorus fertilizer, has been granted phosphorus exemptions in Michigan, Wisconsin and Virginia.

The exemptions allow golf course superintendents, sports turf managers, sod growers, lawn care operators and homeowners to apply this enhanced efficiency fertilizer to their turf where conventional phosphorus-containing products, such as monoammonium phosphate, are otherwise restricted or banned.

The components in Crystal Green are recovered from nutrient-rich water streams using technology developed by Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies. The recovered phosphorus and nitrogen, together with magnesium are transformed into a fertilizer that is significantly higher in purity than its conventional counterparts.

“Crystal Green is a citrate-soluble fertilizer, meaning that it only releases in response to growing root demand,” says Dan Froehlich, vice president of agronomy at Ostara. “As a result, Crystal Green offers more consistent, plant-available phosphorus, nitrogen and magnesium than conventional water-soluble phosphorus fertilizers. It also means that Crystal Green is less likely to get tied up in the soil or to leach and run off into the water table, which is the case with conventional fertilizers. This makes it as environmentally responsible as it is highly efficient.

“Wisconsin, Michigan and Virginia are just the start,” Froehlich adds. “More and more states are seeking to balance the need to allow growers to adequately nourish their plants on the one hand, with the need to protect regional waterways from phosphorus overloading on the other. Crystal Green is ideally suited to address both of these objectives.”