Turf Toughie: Take Our One-Question Exam!
Q: Why is it important to maintain your soil pH between 6.5 and 7?
Sometimes it’s the simple questions – like “Why does my belly growl when I’m hungry?” that are quite perplexing but also most important. Same goes for turf.
“Why is it important to maintain your soil pH between 6.5 and 7?” is one of the questions Benjamin A. McGraw, Ph. D., associate professor of golf and plant sciences at the State University of New York (SUNY)- Delhi, N.Y., likes to pose to his students. “I don’t know if it’s a head-scratcher but the answer is important and vital to a superintendent’s career,” McGraw says.
The answer, as McGraw explains, is that most nutrients (whether applied or in the soil) are readily available to the plant in this pH range. Outside of this range many nutrients (both macro- and micro-nutrients) are not readily available to the plant.
So… keep the pH up and don’t leave your plants with their bellies growling!
Subscribe to Golfdom
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to Golfdom to receive more articles just like it.